


Memories

by VintageGirl71



Category: Free!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Insert, Emotional Baggage, F/M, Female swimmer - Freeform, Fluff and Angst, Free! Iwatobi Swim Club spoilers, Friends to Lovers, Male-Female Friendship, Power of Friendship, Promises, Swim Club, Swimming, side original characters, tough coaching
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2019-10-30 07:46:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 65,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17824751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VintageGirl71/pseuds/VintageGirl71
Summary: Everyone in Iwatobi knew who Rosalya Tawaraya was. She was a foreigner. She was friends with those four guys who had competed in a relay and won. She had a special connection with that cheerful kid with maroon hair and shark like teeth. She was a swimmer, whose dream was to become an Olympic athlete.Nobody knew what happened to her after she left.When Rosalya returns to Iwatobi after five years abroad, memories of a past she is trying to leave behind come back, and when her former teammates decide to start a swimming team and want her in it, she realizes that leaving all that behind won’t be as easy as she thought.





	1. Memories

**Author's Note:**

> So this first chapter is just an introduction to Rosalya and her character, the second chapter is where the action begins. I’m proud of how this story turned out, and I hope you guys enjoy it as well!
> 
> See you next time!

_“I’m leaving next week”_

_The announcement of the twelve year old black haired girl under the cherry blossom tree took everyone by surprise._

_“What do you mean you’re leaving?” questioned Nagisa Hazuki, an eleven year old, looking at the her with surprise “You can’t just leave!”_

_“Where are you going, Rosa?” questioned Makoto Tachibana, a brown haired boy._

_“England” the girl, Rosalya Tawaraya, replied “More specifically, Brighton. There’s a swimming school I’m planning on going to. I’m already enrolled. I didn’t tell you guys sooner because of the relay. I didn’t want you to worry about anything else but that”_

_“First Rin and now you” Makoto spoke up in a soft tone, before smiling at his friend “You’re really moving up, huh?” Rosalya smiled slightly._

_“Yeah, I guess you can say that” she was very happy about attending a swimming school, but it was also a bit sad to leave her friends behind. It wasn’t a total goodbye, though, since she would still contact them as much as she could._

_“Will we ever see you again?” questioned Nagisa with sad eyes, while Haru stood quietly to the side, listening to their every phrase. He was never a boy of many words ._

_“I don’t know, but I’ll definitely make sure to keep in touch with you, guys” replied the girl, trying to make them feel better, and it seemed like it was working, since they smiled brightly “It’s not like you will never hear of me again. We are friends, aren’t we?”_

_“Of course” Mako nodded in agreement with her words._

Rosalya smiled a bit upon relieving that memory again. She still remembered the day she left Iwatobi; she even had a picture her mother had taken of the guys and her hugging tightly and crying. And another one of them actually looking at the camera, but crying still.

Now, here she was, standing again at an airport, leaving yet another life behind, but she needed this.

She needed this, after her brother passed away; she needed to see her friends again, and have fun just like they used to.

Her younger brother, Luke, had died a year ago, and Rosalya had been struggling for that entire year when trying to cope with him being gone. It was hard, it was very hard. She stopped talking to people for a while, she stopped eating, and she stopped swimming. She recovered from the first two, but the third one was still a work in progress. She hadn’t gotten into a pool ever since that day, and she stopped attending Laguna Creek Middle School, the swimming school which was the very reason why she moved to England in the first place.

After some time, she decided that talking with her friends through skype wasn’t enough. Makoto Tachibana, Haruka Nanase, Nagisa Hazuki and Rin Matsuoka were her closest friends, and she needed them. That’s why she was moving back to Iwatobi.

She hadn’t heard anything from Rin for four years now, and she was at a loss as to why. Did she do something? Did something happen to him? She had a lot of questions, but no answer to either one of them. She had no idea what had been of Rin, and she would be lying if she said she wasn’t worried.

“I can’t believe you’re leaving!” exclaimed her best friend, Joy Lance, shaking her head.

“Don’t worry, Joy!” Rosalya assured with a smile “I’ll keep in touch!”

“You better” said the girl sharply, pointing at her with an accusatory finger “Or I’ll haunt your dreams” her friend chuckled upon hearing that.

Joy and Rosalya had met during Rosa’s first year in Laguna Creek Middle School. As it was a boarding school, they were roommates, and instantly clicked. They shared the same passion and the same dream; both of them wanted to become competitive swimmers.

Rosa still held hope for that dream, but she hadn’t touched the water in a year, and she didn’t know if she would ever do it again. It didn’t feel right doing it if Luke was gone, since he was the reason she became a swimmer in the first place.

“Are you sure about this, Rosa?” asked her mother, Eileen, doubtful of her daughter’s decision “You don’t know how much you’re staying, do you even have enough clothes?”

“Mom, I’ll be fine” replied the girl with a smile “I can always buy more”

“You can still change your mind” added her dad, Akio.

“Even so, I can’t turn back” said the girl logically, but still smiling “I already bought the ticket, and the boarding call is starting soon” she added, looking at the gate behind her, that would lead her to a new adventure “I promise I’ll be fine” her parents smiled at her, believing her words, but saying goodbye to their precious girl was hard.

“If she says it, she means it” Joy assured, looking at Akio and Eileen. They both knew that she was right; Rosa always kept her promises.

“We know” said the woman with a smile “It’s just hard to watch you leave, honey” Rosa smiled in understanding.

“I know” she said with a nod “But I’ll talk to you often!” she assured, and her parents nodded.

“You have to board” reminded Joy. Rosa looked at the gate once more, before turning to look at her loved ones.

She hugged Joy first, tightly, and she hugged back with just as much strength.

“Take care, Rosa” she said in her neck “I’ll miss you”

“I’ll miss you, too” said Rosalya, still hugging her.

“And if you see my brother, tell him I said ‘hi’” she added, and Rosa nodded. Joy’s twin brother, Nathan, was studying in Japan, and attending Samezuka Academy, which was the school with the best swimming team in Iwatobi.

What? Surprised that he’s a swimmer too?

Well, they are twins.

“I will” she nodded, and then proceeded to hug her parents, who were crying “I love you both” she said “And I promise, I’ll be fine”

“We love you too, honey” said her mother “Let us know when you arrive there”

“I will” she nodded, wiping some tears on the corner of her eyes with a smile.

“Good luck, kiddo” said her father.

“I love you all” said the girl, looking at the three of them, before disappearing behind the gate.

For the rest of the flight, her thoughts were occupied with seeing the guys again. She had kept in touch with all of them despite the years, but seeing them in person was another thing. When she let them know that she was coming back, they were thrilled, and even offered to pick her up from the airport. Nagisa had let her know that he wouldn’t be able to make it, but Mako and Haru were going to be there. And she was very excited to see them again. She wondered how tall they were, and what they looked like after five years. It’s true that she knew the look on their faces because of skype calls, but nothing else, and she was curious.

After what felt like forever, the plane finally landed on the familiar Iwatobi airport.

Once inside the building and with her luggage in hand, she looked through the crowded place, in search for the familiar guys. The building was full, so it was hard to distinguish anyone, but a familiar olive hair caught her attention. She couldn’t contain her excitement as she walked closer, and tears immediately welled up her eyes when she finally saw Mako and Haru standing there after so long.

“Mako! Haru!” she called for them, receiving a few disapproving glances from people around her due to her behavior, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was seeing her friends again.

“Rosa! It’s good to see you” said Mako with a smile, and Rosa immediately hugged him, as some tears fell from her eyes “Are-are you crying?” he stuttered, and she let out a watery laugh.

“It’s nothing” she said, wiping the tears away “I’m just so glad to see you” her gaze then stood on Haru, who hadn’t said a word ever since she arrived. Rosa couldn’t say that she was surprised, he never talked much back when they were kids, and he didn’t talk much now, but that didn’t stop her from hugging him. Haru didn’t say or do anything, but he was actually happy to see his friend, even if he didn’t show it.

“How was the flight?” asked Mako, as the three of them made their way out of the airport. The olive-haired offered to carry one of her bags to make things easier for the girl.

“It felt like I was inside for ages” she admitted, with a backpack hanging from her back, and a suitcase on one of her hands “I wanted to land already” he chuckled softly.

“I can understand that” he replied, making her smile “And how are you? Are you okay?” Rosa’s expression darkened a bit.

“I’m not 100% alright, but I’m getting there” she replied kindly, looking at Mako “It’ll take time, of course, but I’ll be fine” the boy nodded in understanding. Rosa was always an optimist girl and she was always smiling, that’s why every single one of them got along with her perfectly well. She was very friendly and made everyone feel comfortable.

The guys knew that Rosa didn’t swim anymore, because she had told them. They were all a bit disappointed, but it was her decision and they respected that.

“How are you guys?” she asked, smiling once again “Ready to start school?”

“Yeah” replied Mako “The assembly is in a couple of days” he informed, making her nod. Getting used to education in Japan once again after five years would be hard for her, but she would try her best to do it.

The three of them got a cab, and told the driver to take them to the street where Rosa’s aunt lived, Delaney Clint. The girl was staying with her as long as she wanted to stay, words of Delaney, and she was very grateful for that.

A small smile appeared on Rosa’s face as she saw the familiar landmarks passing by, and it grew even wider when the car came to a stop in front of the old house. It hadn’t changed much in the past few years.

She turned around to face the guys, who were approaching her with her luggage in hand.

“Thanks for picking me up” she said with a smile “I can take it from here” she had already taken up a lot of their time and they probably had things to do.

“Are you sure?” asked Mako.

“Yeah” replied Rosa with a smile “Thanks again. I’ll see you at school” he nodded with a smile, and both, he and Haru went off. The girl carried the last of her luggage to the front door, and rung the bell. She waited patiently for her aunt to open up, which could take some minutes because the house was surprisingly big, so she could be anywhere.

After some time, she heard rapid footsteps, and the door opened up, to reveal her aunt, a woman in her mid-thirties with brown hair and brown eyes; her face completely lit up when she saw her niece.

“Rosa!” she exclaimed, and immediately wrapped her in a bone-crushing hug “It’s so good to see you! Did you make it here safely?” she added, breaking apart

“Yeah” replied the girl with a smile “Mako and Haru picked me up from the airport like we agreed”

“They left already?” she questioned, looking over her niece’s shoulder, to find that indeed the street was empty. She clicked her tongue “That’s a shame, I would have liked to see them. It’s been a long time”

“I’m sure you’ll get more chances” Rosalya stated. Now that she was there, she would hang out with them as much as she could.

“For sure” she nodded with a smile. Loud barks could be heard from inside the house, and when Delaney moved out of the way, a Golden Retriever came running towards Rosa.

“Hi, Toby!” she greeted, crouching down and petting him. The dog swung his tail happily at this “It’s good to see you!”

“Well, come in!” indicated Delaney “Let me help you with that!” she grabbed one of her suitcases, and all three of them got inside the house. Rosa smiled as she inhaled the sweet fragrance of roses, her aunt’s favourite scent. As long as she could remember, her aunt’s house always smelled of flowers. Rosa loved it.

Her old room was the same as she had left it five years ago. The bed made up, the floor cleared…She had always been a very organized person. Looking around the room, she saw that some of the trophies she had won in competitions when she was a kid and the medals were still there. She smiled nostalgically.

Her aunt’s house was big, and she always insisted for her family to make themselves at home whenever they came over, so everyone had a room of their own; Rosa’s parents, herself and Luke, and they could decorate it however they wanted. ‘My house is your house’ the woman constantly said.

When they made the decision to move to Brighton, the Tawarayas sold their old house, and everything they couldn’t take with them they left at Delaney’s house. Rosa’s room especially was full of her things, because she was going to have a roomate at Laguna Creek, she couldn’t just sparse her things everywhere, and since she was going to spend so little time in her family house in England, she didn’t make a lot of effort to decorate her room there either.

“As you can see, everything is exactly how you left it” commented her aunt, upon seeing her niece scanning her room “I didn’t have the courage to throw anything away, not even your trophies” she added, knowing that Rosa didn’t swim anymore.

“Thanks” said the girl, giving her aunt a smile “To be honest, I don’t want to get rid of them either” they were memories, old memories that she really treasured.

“Did you let your parents know you arrived?” asked Delaney, and Rosa suddenly remembered that she hadn’t. With the excitement of seeing the guys again, she had completely forgotten about her parents, and her aunt noticed this in her expression “You better tell them. They must be wondering about you”

“I will” Rosalya nodded.

“Well then, I leave you to it” announced her aunt “I’m gonna cook dinner. You must be hungry”

“A little bit, yeah” said the girl “Thanks” her aunt smiled and went off, leaving her alone in her room.

She finally sat on the bed, to process everything that had happened that day. She had moved from England back to Japan, she wasn’t sure for how long she was staying, but she wasn’t worried. She had returned to the place where she lived most of her childhood. Though she had actually been born in America, she made lots of memories in Iwatobi. She was glad she had the opportunity to return, she was sure that it would help her a lot.


	2. Reunion

_Rosalya emerged from the surface taking in a breath of air, as she stared around the pool she was currently in. It was mostly boys, but she could see some girls in there, too. Taking her cap off, she climbed to the edge of the wall and sat on it, staring and inspecting the people around her._

_There was a group of boys that especially called her attention. There were four of them; one with olive hair and green eyes, another one with orange hair and pink eyes, another one had black hair and blue eyes, and the last one had maroon hair and red eyes. They definitely stood out, and they kept staring at her, eventhough they thought she couldn’t see them. Rosa was torn between going up to them and trying to start a conversation, or just ignore them. She had heard that Japanese people were rather reserved, and she wouldn’t want to make them uncomfortable, but she was also curious._  
_Making up her mind, she stood up, fixed her hair (to make a good first impression) and smiled as she approached them._

_“Hi!” she greeted happily, smiling brightly, and making them turn to look at her surprised upon seeing her talking to them “I’m Tawaraya Rosalya” she replied. It was weird to say her last name first and then her second name, but that’s how Japanese people introduced themselves, so she had to get used to it if she was going to live there from now on._

_“That sounds foreign” observed the orange-haired boy, placing a finger underneath his chin inquisitively, without so much as saying his name._

_“That’s because it is” replied Rosa with a chuckle “I’m from North America. I moved here with my family two weeks ago. I noticed you a couple of minutes ago, so I thought I’ll come over and say hi” she said, still smiling “So, hi. What are your names?” she asked kindly, excited about meeting these boys._

_“I’m Matsuoka Rin” the maroon-haired boy spoke up with a grin. He was also interested in this girl, the four of them had noticed her swimming, and she was pretty good. She was also sort of cute_ _“That’s Tachibana Makoto” he gestured towards the olive-haired boy “Hazuki Nagisa” that was the orange-haired boy “And he’s Nanase Haruka” he was referring to the boy with black hair._

_“Nice to meet you all!” she said energetically._

_“You too” said Rin in a friendly manner._

_“Oh, and sorry if I seem a bit bubbly or rude” she added, very aware that they probably weren’t used to attitudes like hers “I’m not trying, it sort of just comes out” Makoto chuckled softly._

_“I wouldn’t worry about it”_

_That was the day that everything changed._

 

The first day of high school, Rosalya woke up early and refreshed after a good night’s sleep. Mako would come to pick her up, since they both lived fairly close to each other, and she didn’t want to keep him waiting.

She got dressed in the uniform, and grabbed her bag from the corner of the room before getting out. On her way to the stairs, she stopped in front of her brother’s door, which was just across. There used to be a sign that said ‘Luke’ in block green letters, the background decorated with superheroes he liked, but it was gone now.

Taking a deep breath, she braced herself for what she was about to see, before turning the knob. She hadn’t visited it the first day she came because she needed a whole lot of mental preparation, it had taken her over four months to get into his room in Brighton, which wasn’t as personalized as this one. It hurt, but she couldn’t pretend it wasn’t there. Especially if she had to pass it everyday on her way to the stairs.

Luke’s room used to be the most colorful one of them all. He had a wooden bed with spaced-theme sheets and a blue cover; there was a rug that simulated the lanes in a race. He had many toys, some of which were stored in a chest by the feet of his bed, and other scattered throughout the floor in boxes, except for a single toy train and its railway that was always in the middle of the room. There was also a wave wallpaper decorating the wall, and that was the only thing left now. The rest of the room was empty, Delaney had stored all the boxes with Luke’s things in the attic, not wanting her niece to see them there, because she knew how difficult it was going to be for her.

But the fact that there was nothing was even more painful to bear, the room looked desolated and depressing, no sign of the bright ten year old boy who once called that his lair; it filled Rosa with a sense of gloom, and everything seemed darker all of a sudden despite it being a sunny day.

Turning around, she closed the door behind her and walked away, before the dark thoughts consumed her once again.

Downstairs, she was received by Toby and breakfast on the kitchen table, because her aunt had to go to work early.

“Good morning to you, too!” she greeted, petting the dog, before sitting down at the table. It had been a long time since she last ate Japanese food, so it tasted weird when she first tried her breakfast, but she knew she would get used to it eventually.

She then noticed there was a note by the side of her plate, and an envelope. Frowning, she took it in her hands and read it.

Good morning, Rosa! Putting some things in order last night, I found a photograph you might want to have. I know how precious they are for you, so I sincerely hope you like it. Have a wonderful first day!

Opening the envelope, she found a picture taken around two or three years ago when the Tawarayas came to visit Delaney for holidays. On it, Luke and her were making silly faces towards the camera with a cherry blossom tree in the background. A smile crawled up her lips. They were so happy that day, not knowing the tragedy that was to come. If she could turn back time and go to that wicked day, prevent what happened from occurring, she would. She would a million times until Luke was safe back in her arms.

“I miss you, little brother” she breathed out with some tears in her eyes, before placing the photograph on the bag she would take to school and finishing her breakfast.

Waiting for Mako to come by, she started to walk around the living room. It was your typical living room, with a couch, a small table, armchairs, a rug and a fireplace, but what made it stand out more was the fact that it was full of pictures. You can call them old schooled, but the Tawaraya family really treasured those pictures, those memories. Everywhere in their houses, you could find portraits of members of the family, or family photos.

Rosalya had a bunch of pictures that she always took with her when she moved to another place, and that’s why her room now was full of those. She had brought others, too, like some with Joy back in England, and with her teammates back at Laguna Creek. Eventhough she was closer to Joy than to any other person there, she really cared about her other team members.

There were some specific photos that Rosalya had framed, and others were in a box on one corner of her room, and she loved to look at them and remember in what circumstances it happened and who took the picture.

Her doorbell rang, and she immediately opened up, finding Makoto on the other side of the door.

“Good morning, Rosa” he greeted, polite as always.

“Good morning, Mako” she greeted back, and closed the door behind her “Does Haru still live in the same place?” she asked, as they both started to walk down the road.

“Yeah” replied Mako “He lives alone now, since his parents are always travelling”

“That must be fun” replied Rosa with a smile “Not many people could handle it”

“You think so?” asked Mako, looking at her curiously.

“Yeah” she replied “It’s a lot of responsibility, and some people are just no apt for it” she replied. She honestly wouldn’t have any problem on moving to Iwatobi and living on her own, but she was lucky enough to have a family member living there, who was more than happy to take her in.

“Good morning, Ms. Tamara” he greeted a lady on the front yard of her house, as the two of them got into Haru’s neighborhood.

“Good morning” Rosa said politely, eventhough she didn’t know the woman.

“Oh, good morning Makoto!” she greeted, before looking at the girl “And who are you, dear?”

“My name’s Tawaraya Rosalya” she replied with a smile.

“Well, nice to meet you” said the other woman, before taking out two loaves of what Rosalya could only assume was bread from a basket and giving it to them.

“Oh, woah, thank you” said Mako, grabbing it.

“Have a good day!” wished Rosalya, before both of them went off. They could hear the lady saying ‘You too’.

As the two of them went up the stairs, they heard meowing, and noticed a small white kitten hiding in between some grass.

“Hey, there” said Mako sweetly, crouching down and petting the cat softly. Rosa smiled upon seeing that; the boy was as sweet as ever, he hadn’t changed much.

Upon arriving to Haru’s house, he rang the bell, but no one answered. Rosalya frowned, as her friend looked through the bathroom window.

“Why am I not surprised?” he asked tiredly “Let’s get in through the backdoor” Rosa frowned upon hearing that, but followed him anyway.

“Are we allowed to do that?” she questioned, not really sure how she felt about trespassing into someone’s home.

“It’ll be fine, it’s Haru” said Mako in assurance, sliding the door open “Hey, it’s us! Coming in now!” he announced in case Haru heard, as they went through a curtain, which lead into the first part of the bathroom. Rosalya remembered the layout of his house faintly, she hadn’t gone much, almost always her house was the meetup place.

“He’s not even dressed yet?” asked the girl, looking at a plastic basket with Haru’s clothes inside. Mako sighed, and opened the door to the second part of the bathroom. She stayed back, because she had no idea what she could find inside.

Rosa heard bits and pieces of the conversation going on in the bathroom, until Haru finally came out, in his swimsuit.

“Good morning, Haru!” she greeted, energetic as always, and then she frowned when she saw what he was wearing “Why are you wearing your swimsuit? Did you bathe in that?”

“Yeah, yeah” he replied, shrugging it off “We’re gonna be late for school”

“Isn’t that supposed to be my line?” asked Mako, making Rosa chuckle.

“Not anymore, apparently” she replied with a smile.

Instead of getting dressed, Haru decided to cook mackerel.

“I thought you said we were gonna be late!” reminded the girl.

“Well, I haven’t had breakfast yet” he replied logically.

“Yeah, but you’re wearing an apron over your swimsuit” shot Mako, looking at the blue apron, and after some moments of silence, he finally asked “Aren’t you cold?”

“No” replied Haru “I just don’t wanna get oil in my swimsuit” Rosa couldn’t help but chuckle. This was the kind of thing she had missed, these random and funny moments with the guys.

Being there with them was going to be good for her.

“Nothing’s changed much!” observed Rosa, as the three of them made their way to the high school “I’m actually glad about it”

“Well, it hasn’t been that much time since you and Rin left” replied Mako logically.

“Did you guys hear anything from Rin in the past few years?” asked Rosalya with interest. Haru tensed a bit upon hearing that, since he had seen him before, but he didn’t say anything.

“Not really…” replied Mako, noticing Haru’s attitude “You?” he asked, looking at Rosa.

“We skyped a couple of times” replied the girl “But that’s about it. I haven’t heard of him in a long time” the first few years of his transfer to Australia, they talked almost every week, but after some time he stopped calling back or calling in general, and Rosa didn’t really know why “To be honest, I’m sort of worried”

“Well, that’s natural” said Mako “You and Rin were very close”

“That’s true” replied Rosa, and she knew that he was right. She cared about all the boys and she loved spending time with them, but the relationship with Rin had always been different. They shared laughs and jokes and moments, all which were stored in photos and in her memories. Some people often thought that they were siblings, and someone always pointed out how comfortable they seemed around each other.

After class, it was lunch time.

“Miss Amakata seems nice” observed Rosa, approaching the guys at their desks “Anyway, wanna eat in the roof?” she added, as they stood at the top of the stairs.

“I didn’t bring my lunch” Haru spoke up.

“Go buy something in the cafeteria” suggested Mako “Or you can share mine if you want”

“Haruka, Makoto, Rosalya!” a familiar voice called Rosa’s attention, and she looked down the stairs to find a boy with orange hair, and he seemed familiar “It’s been forever! It’s been a long time, huh?” he sounded quite cheerful, and Rosa immediately recognized him.

“Nagisa!” she exclaimed, and immediately rushed down the stairs to hug him, making him chuckle happily “It’s so good to see you again! Wanna come to the roof with us?” she also wanted to catch up with him.

“Sure!” he replied happily.

“We haven’t seen you in forever!” said Makoto as the childhood friends stood on the roof, staring down at the buildings ahead of them “Not since the swim club shut down!”

“How many years ago was that again?” questioned Rosa.

“A few!” replied Nagisa “And I can’t believe that Rosa is back from England!”

“It’s so surreal” confessed the girl “But I’m so happy! I really missed this place, and I really missed you, guys”

“We missed you, too” replied Mako with honesty, and he was speaking for everyone. They were all glad to see her again.

“Woah, cherry blossoms?” exclaimed Nagisa, as they stared at the pink trees underneath them  
“They had fancy landscaping like this around the pool where you went to middle school, didn’t they, Haruka?”

“Please stop calling me by that name” said Haru tiredly.

“But isn’t that your actual name?” questioned Nagisa, but the boy didn’t answer.

“I missed the cherry blossoms” Rosalya spoke up “We didn’t have anything like this in England!”

“The cherry blossoms are a nice touch” commented Makoto “But the pool never gets used here. There’s no swim team”

“That kinda sucks…” Nagisa said softly “Where do you guys swim these days?”

“I don’t “replied Haru “Not competitively” Rosa was surprised to hear that.

“For real?” she questioned. Haru didn’t say anything, and the girl took that as a yes.

“What the hell!” Nagisa exclaimed “You’re kidding, right? Do you know how long I’ve been looking forward to enroll in Iwatobi so we could race together?!” Nagisa knew that Rosa didn’t swim anymore, but he didn’t know that Haru didn’t either.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Nagisa” replied Haru “Things change. We’re not kids anymore”

“Haruka…” breathed out Nagisa, still not being able to grasp the recently learned information.

“Well, Haru is still swimming, just not competitively” explained Mako “Trust me, he needs water like we need air. When it’s summer, you can always find him in the ocean”

“Unless it’s this morning when we found him in the bathtub with his swimsuit on” pointed out Rosa, making Mako chuckle.

“You’re kidding. Those aren’t even the same thing” said Nagisa “Just sounds like he’s into bathing” he then got an idea “We could start a hot springs club!” Rosa raised an eyebrow amused upon hearing that.

“A what now?” she questioned.

“You’d be in it, right?!” asked Nagisa, shaking Haru slightly, before turning to look at the girl “You too, Rosa!”

“That’s not a thing, Nagisa” said Rosa with a small laugh.

She was so busy laughing at Nagisa’s ideas, that she didn’t notice Rin’s little sister, Gou, looking at her from afar, while eating lunch with one of her friends.

If Rosa was back, then maybe she knew something about Rin that she didn’t.


	3. Bittersweet Encounter

_“So, what do you say? Wanna be in our swim team?” asked twelve year old Rin Matsuoka to Rosalya after they were done swimming in the swim club. The girl was currently sitting on a bench with Rin standing in front of her._

_“I don’t understand why you want me” replied the girl with a frown “You are going to swim a relay, right?”_

_“That’s the plan” Rin nodded in confirmation._

_“A relay has four members. What would I be? The cheerleader?” she questioned, making Rin chuckle._

_“I was thinking of you more as the coach” he replied with a grin, folding his arms, and making Rosa furrow her eyebrows._

_“Huh?”_

_“I’ve seen you swimming many times” explained Rin “Your movements are precise and fast. We’ll definitely need that if we are gonna swim a relay. Everything needs to be perfectly timed” Rosa blinked, processing that “And besides…I want it to be special, and for it to be you have to be with us. Please, Rosa”_

_“Okay, sure” replied Rosa with a smile, which made Rin very happy as she stood up._

_“Yes!” he celebrated._

_“But you might regret this decision later. I won’t be easy on you” the boy grinned even more._

_“I wasn’t expecting any less” he replied “C’mon, I’ll race you to your house” that being said, he began running ahead of her without any warning._

_“Hey, wait up!” she yelled “No fair!” she increased her speed, and Rin laughed happily as she tried to catch up to him._

_Rosa finally did in the end, but they arrived to a small slope, and she tripped. She grabbed Rin’s arm to stop her fall, but she ended up dragging them both down instead. Hitting the end of it, they laughed joyfully._

_“You cheated!” scolded Rosa._

_“I didn’t” replied Rin “It’s not my fault you’re not fast enough to catch up with me” he added, good-heartedly._

_“Shut up” said the girl, pushing him slightly backwards, and making him chuckle._

* * *

 

 “You guys heard about our old swimming club, right?” questioned Nagisa as the quartet walked down the stairs, back to the halls of the school “They lost the leash or something and they are gonna tear it down soon”

“Seriously?!” questioned the girl surprised, and her friends were soon giving her confused glances. Rosa then realized that she had spoken in English and they didn’t understand what she said “Sorry. I keep forgetting I’m in Japan” she apologized in Japanese, and Makoto smiled.

“No worries” he assured.

“So I was thinking…” Nagisa jumped down the last two steps like a little kid, before turning to look at them at the top of the stairs “We should stop by before they do! For old time’s sake!”

“We have to go dig that up, don’t we?” asked Makoto, and Rosalya’s eyes opened wide in realization, as an old memory came back.

‘That’ was the trophy that the five of them had won on the relay all those years ago. Rin said that, as they won it together, it didn’t feel right to take turns keeping it at each of their houses, so they buried it in a time capsule right outside the swimming club, with the promise that they would dig it up when they grew older.

“Exactly!” Nagisa agreed “It’s already closed, but we can sneak in under the cover of darkness!”

“You have fun with that. Count me out” said Haru walking down the stairs, but Nagisa stopped him.

“Don’t be like that, Haru! Please come with us!” he begged, and the black haired looked to the other side.

“I don’t wanna go” he replied, avoiding Nagisa’s gaze.

“C’mon, Haru!” Rosa exclaimed “It’ll be fun!” the trophy was pretty special to all of them, and she wanted to see it again “At least come to humour Nagisa”

“Give me one good reason” Haru argued stubbornly, and Mako spoke up.

“We’d have full access to an indoor pool…” he began “A pool that happens to be much bigger than a bathtub” his friend’s eyes shone when he heard the word ‘Pool’.

“Welcome to my humble dwelling” said Rosa the old way, as she and the guys got into her house  
“Not much has changed since the last time you were here” she added, closing the door behind her, as happy barks were heard. They all turned to look at the kitchen, and saw Toby running towards them. He started to jump energetically, greeting the visitors.

“Oh, I remember you!” exclaimed Mako, reaching down to pet the dog. Rosa smiled upon seeing that, her aunt had Toby even before she moved to Japan, so the guys knew him since they often came to her house after going to the swimming club.

“You guys are hungry? Wanna eat something?” offered the girl.

“Do you have Mackerel?” asked Haru, and Rosa chuckled, not at all surprised that he was asking that.

“Sorry, Haru, no” she replied, shaking her head. She didn’t really like Mackerel, so there wasn’t any at her house “I can offer you some tea, though” she added “I brought this box full of tea bags from England. You have to try some”

“Oh, I want to try it!” exclaimed Nagisa excitedly, and Rosa smiled.

After showing them the different flavors of tea, the guys chose and Rosa boiled the water. Then, they were all up in her tied up room, with Toby lying down on the rug.

“Is your aunt working?” asked Mako, taking a sip from his cup of tea.

“Yeah” replied Rosa “She has the night shift at the hospital” she added. As you may have guessed already, Rosa’s aunt was a nurse at the local hospital, so she was often called late at night to work, but she always made sure to leave her food to prepare or heat up.

As they talked, Nagisa looked around the girl’s room, more specifically, the pictures she had all over the place. There were some on her desk and shelves, her nighttable and some hanging from the walls.

There was one that specifically called his attention, which was a framed photo of her and Rin on her vanity table. On it, Rin had an arm around Rosa’s shoulder while he grinned with his eyes closed and she was looking at him out of the corner of her eye with one eye closed and smiling happily.

“We didn’t know my mom was taking a picture” commented Rosa, staring at it with her arms folded and a smile, as Nagisa looked at her curiously “It was a couple of days before we both left” she explained “It turned out nice in the end despite us not knowing, so I framed it”

“You both look so happy” observed Nagisa.

“We were” the girl said with a smile, as she remembered that day. She had really missed Rin during the past few years, and she really wanted to see him again, but she had no idea where he was at the moment. Was he still in Australia?

“So…” Makoto spoke up softly, making Nagisa and Rosa turn to look at him “Are you sure about this whole thing?”

“What?” questioned the orange haired “You were all in a while ago! Don’t chicken out now!”

“I’m not!” argued the other boy “I’m only trying to say that it seems sort of wrong with only the four of us”  
“Well…” Rosa spoke up “It’s true Rin’s not here, but we can’t really do anything else” she said logically “The club is being torn out. Someone else could find it amongst all the digging and construction and throw it away. I wouldn’t want to lose that trophy”

“I guess that does make sense” .

“This place really is trashed” observed Mako later that evening, as the four of them stood in front of the swimming club, which was in a pretty miserable state.

“It’s sad to see it like this” commented Rosa “We had fun times here. Like that time I was your coach for the relay”

“You weren’t kidding when you said you wouldn’t go easy on us” said Nagisa, as he remembered how exhausted he arrived home every single day after training.

“I’m a dedicated person” replied the girl with a chuckle, as the orange haired took out a napkin with white powder from his jean pocket.

“Don’t worry, I’m prepared” he announced, as the rest looked at the white powder in his hands “Salt”

“Salt?”

“’Cause some people say this place is haunted” explained Nagisa, and Rosa noticed all the color draining from Mako’s face.

“Please don’t scare me like that” said the olive haired softly.

“You think I’m lying?!” questioned the other boy “People see shadows creeping out at night, Makoto. This girl I know even said she heard sobbing”

“Oh, that doesn’t sound too good” Rosa replied, playing along “You think we’ll hear it tonight?”

“Maybe” the orange haired said mysteriously, as he dumped ‘salt’ on them.

It turned out to be sugar.

“Salt, sugar... It’s all the same, right? Anything has magical properties if you believe hard enough” Nagisa’s voice echoed through the abandoned building as they walked down the halls “Mind over matter. That’s the secret”

“Same thing with ghosts” replied Makoto, who was quite scared “People see what they wanna see” as they walked, Rosa spotted a can on the floor. She smirked and kicked it on purpose: the sound startled Mako, who screamed terrified and hid behind Haru “What’s that?!” he questioned with his voice trembling, making the girl burst into laughter.

“Sorry, it was too tempting” she replied between chuckles.

“You’re doing this on purpose!” he complained, and Rosa didn’t bother to correct him.

“I can’t help it if you’re scared of your own shadow” she replied as they walked down the dark  
hallways, their only light being a flashlight Nagisa had brought with him.

“You’re not helping at all now!” he argued.

“Okay, okay. Sorry, I’ll stop” said the girl, still amused.

After some more minutes of walking, they arrived to the locker room.

“It’s not nearly as trashed in the inside” observed Mako.

“Look at this!” Nagisa ran through a door.

“It’s the lounge!” exclaimed Rosa “Are the pictures…?”

“They are still here” the orange haired confirmed as he stared at the portraits hanging on the wall, and the rest approached him “Doesn’t it take you back? This is from when we won the relay”

In the picture, the five of them were posing after placing first place. Rin was in the middle, holding the trophy with one hand and placing an arm around Haru’s shoulder, who was looking to the side with a straight face. The boys were on their swimsuits, while Rosa was wearing a pair of jean shorts with a white t-shirt and a plaid shirt. On her feet, she was wearing beige shoes with a black bow. She was standing in between Rin and Nagisa, with her arm leaning on Rin’s shoulder.

They were all so happy... If she could relive that memory again, she would. Over and over. That day, watching all of them swimming together on the relay, was a thing she would never forget.

They all began walking away, but stopped in their tracks when they saw that Haru wasn’t following them. He seemed lost in thought, as he remembered the exact day in which they buried the trophy.

“Haru, c’mon!” urged Mako upon seeing the boy not moving.

“Sorry” he apologized softly and caught up with them, while Rosa wondered what he was thinking about.

“Do you think that maybe we can speed up the pace a little bit?” asked the olive haired, holding Haru from his hoodie with one hand, and looking around with a terrified expression. He then stopped when he saw someone in the distance.

“What is it, Mako?” questioned Rosa, seeing him frozen in spot.

She approached the boys who were standing behind him, and spotted the figure walking with slow steps towards them. She narrowed her eyes, trying to distinguish who it was from the distance.

“Yo” he greeted.

“Who’s that?” questioned Nagisa softly, looking at his friends.

“I don’t know” replied Mako, shaking his head, and Rosa did the same thing. She couldn’t recognize him.

“What are the chances to think I’d ran into you, guys?” he asked, pulling the strap of his cap for a second before letting it go.

Then, it sunk in, as he finally showed his face.

“Rin?” asked Rosalya, and she couldn’t believe her eyes. Her best friend was actually standing there “Oh my gosh! It’s so good to see you again!” she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck for a hug, but he didn’t return it.

Instead, he looked at Haru.

“Haru” Rin called, ignoring the other three. Rosa frowned as she broke apart, and took some steps back. This didn’t sound like Rin “Are you seriously still hanging out with these guys? It’s a little pathetic”

“Rin?” asked the girl, not understanding why he was behaving that way.

“Wait, what is that supposed to mean?” asked Mako, not getting it either. All three of them were very confused.

“Speak for yourself” said Haru, as the other three turned to look at him “So what about you? Learned any new tricks in Australia?” Rosalya frowned. She was definitely missing something here.

“Glad you asked” said Rin, cracking his neck “I’ll show you what they taught me. How about a race?”

“In what water?” asked Rosa, knowing that the pool was probably empty, but either one of them heard her, or they just ignored her.

“Did they just ditch us?” asked Nagisa, as they stared at the two of them walking away.

“I think so” replied Mako. The trio exchanged glances, before following the guys.

“Wanna see the difference between the two of us now?” asked Rin, taking his shirt off and throwing it on the floor “It’s gonna be like night and day”

“Alright” replied Haru, doing the same thing “Go ahead and show me” Rosa, Mako and Nagisa opened their eyes wide upon hearing that.

“They’re gonna swim here?!” asked Nagisa.

“This isn’t a good idea” replied Mako.

“This is a terrible idea” corrected Rosa, as Haru reached out for his jeans “Haru!” complained the girl, looking away so as not to see anything.

“You never change from that outfit?!” questioned the olive haired, and Rosa saw that her friend was wearing his speedos. Both of her friends, actually.

They really loved that thing.

“Great minds think alike” replied Nagisa, completely missing the point.

“We have to stop them!” said Mako.

“Do we really?”

“Yes!” exclaimed Rosa “There is no water in the pool!” she yelled to the guys, who were on the platform, but then they noticed that the girl was right.

“What the hell…” muttered Rin.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!” argued Rosa, but he completely ignored her, much to her confusion.

“Oh, yeah, by the way” Rin spoke up, holding up the trophy they had all won “You losers come to dig this up?”

“Our trophy” breathed out Nagisa.

“I don’t need this thing anymore” he stated “You want it, it’s yours” he let the trophy fall onto the floor, but Rosa quickly ran over and grabbed it before it actually hit it, as she stared at her friend walking away.

Something definitely happened. He had changed completely, and Rosalya was determined to find out why.

The next day, after school, Rosa was home alone. The guys had offered to hang out together, but she refused. She needed some time to think and figure out what was going on with Rin, and why he was acting the way he was.

The image of this new Rin crossed her mind. His face, emotionless; his tone, cold; he didn’t even say hello to her, or any other of the guys, nor returned her hug. She thought that after five years he would at least be a bit happy to see her again, but all she saw was a blank page.

The doorbell rang, and she frowned, wondering who it could be. She rushed down the stairs, and opened the door, to find who she could only recognize as Gou Matsuoka.

“Gou!” she greeted happily, and brought her in for a hug (She loved hugging people, as you may have noticed) “It’s been a long time!”

“Yeah!” she replied with a smile. The two girls always got along well.

“Come in!” Rosa gestured to the inside of her house, and she did as told “Can I offer you something to eat? Or drink?”

“No, thank you” she replied, as both girls sat down on the couch.

“So, what brings you here?” questioned Rosa with interest.

“I was wondering if you’ve seen my brother around lately”

“I have, as a matter of fact”she replied with a nod, remembering the bittersweet encounter she and the guys had with him “We saw him at our old swimming club”

“Really?!” asked Gou, sort of excited.

“Yeah, but he seemed different” explained the girl with a frown “He completely ignored us and challenged Haru to a race. I’m disappointed, if you want me to be honest; I actually thought he’d be at least a bit happy to see me again. How long has he been here?”

“He returned a month ago, and is attending Samezuka Academy” Rosa looked at her surprised upon hearing that.

And then again, she wasn’t so surprised; actually, Rin always said that he wanted to become an Olympic swimmer, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he was attending Samezuka. Maybe Nathan and he had met.

“Did something happen in Australia?” she asked again, wanting to know as much as possible. Why had he returned? And why was he acting so weird?

“I honestly have no idea” replied Gou “I thought that if he saw his old team, he’d probably open up about it. Especially since you were there” Rosa looked at her curiously.

“Were you the one who told him?” she asked. There was no other way he could’ve known otherwise, and it didn’t seem like a coincidence.

“I wouldn’t say that exactly” said the girl, raising her hands in front of her “Look, I know what it sounds like, but I was only trying to help. I swear. I overheard your conversation and just thought I might let him know. Besides, he never even replied...”

“Gou, I’m not mad at you” replied Rosa with a kind smile “I think that what you did for Rin was very nice of you” the girl smiled upon hearing that, a bit surprised, but happy nonetheless.

“I just…I want him to return to his old self” she admitted.

“I understand” she replied “I want that to, and I’ll help you in any way I can. I promise”


	4. The Letter

_“I-I have something to tell you” Rin spoke to Rosa, as they sat on the backyard of her house. The girl looked at him curiously upon hearing that._

_“Sure” she nodded “What is it?”_

_“I’m not gonna attend middle school here” he admitted, earning him a surprised glance._

_“You aren’t?” she asked, and Rin shook his head, sort of worried about what her reaction was going to be._

_“I’ll be in Australia, at a swimming school” he explained, making her smile. If he was leaving, then telling him she was leaving too wouldn’t be as hard as she thought it would be. She would miss every single one of the guys, but the one she was definitely going miss the most was Rin._

_“Rin, that’s awesome!” she exclaimed happily, knowing that his dream was to become an Olympic swimmer, and going to study abroad was going to be a good opportunity for him to fulfill that dream “I’m so happy for you!” Rin was a bit taken back by her response, thinking she would yell at him or start crying, but he smiled at her when he realized that she wasn’t “I’m also leaving” she added after some minutes, and Rin arched his eyebrows upon hearing that._

_“Where are you going?” he questioned curiously._

_“There’s this swimming school in England called Laguna Creek” she explained “I found it while I was researching something for school, and it delivered some of the greatest swimmers of all times” she added “I’m already enrolled for the new year”_

_“Why didn’t you say anything before?”_

_“I didn’t want to distract you guys from the relay” she admitted “The rest don’t know it yet, and I want it to stay that way until after the tournament, so promise me you won’t say anything”_

_“Okay. I won’t” Rin nodded, and silence reigned for a few minutes “So you’re going to achieve your dream” he knew that Rosa also wanted to swim in the Olympics one day._

_“We both are” she pointed out with a smile “But you have to promise that you’ll keep in touch with me” she said firmly “We’re not going to be those types of friends who lose touch when one of them moves away” she stated._

_“Okay” he nodded with a smile “I promise”_

_“Good. Or I’ll come to Australia myself, and you won’t get rid of me so easily”_

_“What a pain…” complained Rin, though he was secretly glad that Rosa was willing to do that for him._

_“Well, this pain is your best friend, and you love me for it” said the girl playfully, making him chuckle slightly._

* * *

 

Rosa, after telling the guys where Rin was enrolled, she had no idea why they wanted to know that but she didn’t ask, was waiting for Joy to answer her skype call, because she really needed someone to talk to. And the girl had always been her first choice.

Finally, she saw ‘incoming call’ on the screen and immediately accepted it.

“Hi there, girl!” greeted Joy, making Rosa chuckle. It had only been a couple of days since she moved to Iwatobi, but she had really missed her voice “How’s it going? How’s life over there?”

“It has been pretty good!” she replied happily “I missed this place a lot, and the guys, too! Not much has changed! What about you?”

“Things have been fine so far!” replied Joy “It feels sort of lonely without you here with me, but I think I’m having a new roommate sometime soon”

“Don’t you dare forget about me!” ordered the girl sternly, upon hearing that.

“Don’t worry, Rosa. No one can replace you!” said the other girl with a wink “Have you done anything interesting these days?”

“Uh…Does trespassing into an abandoned building count?” asked the black haired innocently, making her laugh.

“No way!” she said with a chuckle “Who knew our Rosa could be such a rebel?”

“Shut up” the girl chuckled “The old swimming club we used to go to is being torn out, and we wanted to dig up the trophy we won in the relay”

“Really?” asked Joy “In that case, I approve”

“I don’t need your approval” said Rosa good-heartedly, but her expression darkened a bit when she remembered Rin’s attitude.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” asked her friend, noticing her expression.

“You know how Rin left for Australia and I haven’t heard much of him ever since?” she replied.

“Yeah?” she asked, sensing that something had happened with the boy.

“He’s back” stated Rosa, and her friend’s eyes shot open.

“Really? That’s great, Rosa! It will give you guys a chance to catch up!” said Joy, not knowing that the situation wasn’t as happy as she thought.

“I wish it were that easy” replied Rosa sadly, making her friend frown upon hearing that “We saw him at the club, but it felt as if he was a completely different person”

“What do you mean?” questioned Joy, folding her arms “Different how?”

“He was so cold towards us” replied the girl “He called us pathetic, and challenged Haru to a race, while ignoring that Mako, Nagisa and I were there” she added “I thought that after five years, he’d be at least a bit happy to see me, but it was as if I wasn’t there at all”

“Any idea what happened?”

Joy was a bit angry at Rin for doing that, even though she had never met him, but she knew about him because of what Rosa told her, and it didn’t sound like him at all. She was careful not to let her emotions get the best of her, because she knew how much the maroon haired meant to her friend, and she didn’t want to say anything against him.

“I don’t know” replied Rosa shaking her head “But I will find out”

“That’s the attitude, girl!” said Joy excited, making her smile “If he’s gonna open up to someone, it will be to you. Afterall, you are very determined, and there’s also the fact that you’re head over heels for him, so…”

“Stop it” said Rosa, blushing slightly, though she was smiling.

“It’s the truth!” replied Joy, and she was right. Rosa had had a crush on Rin ever since they were kids.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean that you have to bring it up every single time we have a conversation” said the black haired logically, rolling her eyes.

“Well, I wouldn’t have to if you ever stopped talking about him” she said good-heartedly, with just as much logic “I think I even heard you talking about him in your sleep once…”

“Don’t make me end this call, Joy!” threatened Rosa, making her friend chuckle.

“Okay, okay. I’ll stop”

Both girls kept talking until late, before one of them finally had to go.

* * *

 

“Why did you do that?” asked Rosa tiredly the next day, when the guys told her that they had sneaked into Samezuka academy.

“We wanted to see Rin…” replied Nagisa sheepishly, and the girl sighed.

“I think there are better ways to talk to him, guys” she said logically.

“We are sorry” replied Mako and Nagisa simultaneously, hanging their heads in shame.

“At least it didn’t have major consequences” said Rosa optimistically, and then looked around, to find that someone was missing “Hey, where’s Haru?” she added, looking at her friends.

“I don’t know” replied Nagisa “He just started walking away” the three of them looked towards the door, and saw, indeed, that their friend walking some distance away from them.

“When did that happen?” questioned the olive-haired tiredly.

Gou then approached them, and they had a similar conversation to that of Rosa and she yesterday, only that 30% of it was Gou and Nagisa arguing over the pronunciation of her name.

“Hey, I’ve got a great idea!” the orange haired spoke up after some minutes “How about we start a swim club right here at school?” Rosalya opened her eyes wide upon hearing that “We can compete in tournaments, and we’ll see Rin!” she stayed silent for some minutes, analyzing that. It sounded like fun, but the girl wasn’t sure.

“I don’t know, Nagi” replied Rosa “I’m not sure I’m ready to get back into the water just yet”

“What do you mean?” asked the other girl, having never heard of that before.

“After my little brother died, I decided to take a break from swimming” explained the girl with a kind smile “It’s been a year since that” she added. It was a sensitive topic for her, but Gou deserved to know what was going on.

“You don’t have to swim, you can have another position!” said Nagisa, bouncing up and down “Please, Rosa” the girl smiled, not being able to say no to him. He was like a puppy.

“Okay, sure” she replied “It sounds like fun” she added, and Nagisa smiled happily.

“I’m not sure Haru would be on board with something like this” stated Mako.

Either way, they went to ask him.

“Whatever. Knock yourselves out” replied Haru while sitting in the bath with his swimsuit on.

“Wait, really?” questioned Rosalya, and the other two asked similar things. They didn’t expect him to agree so easily.

“This is gonna be so fun!” exclaimed Nagisa “Awesome Haru, thanks!”

Later, the five of them were in Haru’s living room as he dried off.

“You know that a swim club will be a lot of work, right Haru? And you’ll have to help out” commented Mako, very aware of the boy’s laziness.

“That’s fine” replied the black haired, and Rosa’s gaze stood on Gou who was covering her face while looking the other way.

“Uh…Gou?” she called, placing a hand on her shoulder “Are you alright?” the young girl turned around, and she was literally shining as she stared at Haru, who was staring right back at her with curiosity “Oh, I forgot!” she spoke up, turning to look at Haru “This is Rin’s little sister”

“Hello, it’s very nice to see you again Haruka” she greeted politely.

“Yeah, I know you” replied Haru “Gou, right?” the girl smiled and nodded.

“I’m sorry about what my brother did yesterday” she apologized on Rin’s behalf as Haru put on a robe.

“No worries” he replied as he approached the oven, and Nagisa went to help him.

Rosa’s gaze then stood on the trophy and the picture resting on one corner, and she smiled a bit when the memory of that day came back to her.

“Hey, is that…?” Gou left the phrase hanging in the air as she stared at the picture on the floor, while Nagisa and Haru prepared food for everyone to eat. It would probably involve a whole lot of mackerel.

“Oh, yeah” replied Mako, upon seeing what the maroon haired was looking at “That’s the trophy the five of us won when we were little kids” Rosa felt weird everytime someone said that the five of them had won the trophy, when, in reality, it was just Rin, Haru, Mako and Nagisa that swam.

But when she told them not to include her since she hadn’t swam, they immediately refused, claiming that she had been a huge help for them.

“You’re all smiling” observed Gou.

“Everyone but Haru” added Rosa “As usual”

“I like to think that Haru is always smiling on the inside” Nagisa spoke up, walking into the room with a tray full of cups of tea, making Rin’s sister chuckle.

“You guys make it sound like he’s such grumpy person” she said chuckling, and the rest imitated her.

“So, Gou, this is actually the first time that Rin has ever come home since he left, right?” asked Mako, and Rosa frowned.

“I think he did come back once” she commented, faintly remembering a letter Rin had sent her a couple of years ago, where he said he was returning for the holidays…She was sure she had kept it, she just didn’t know where it was.

“Really?” questioned Nagisa, surprised to hear that.

“Rin came back every year for the holidays without fail” replied the maroon haired, which meant that Rin had come back more times than Rosa thought. If he had come back a month ago, then he approximately had come five or six times for holidays.

Did he never hang out with the guys when he did? Because that was just cold…But then again, this ‘New Rin’, as Rosa liked to call him, was cold-hearted.

“Are you saying that Rin came back home every year and never got in touch with any of us?” demanded Nagisa, thinking the same thing as Rosa. Gou just nodded, not really knowing what else to say. It wasn’t her fault that Rin had done that, but she still felt bad about it, since way back when Rin always talked about his amazing teammates “Man, what a jerk!”

* * *

 

Later that day, Rosalya was at her house, searching through her bookshelves for A Dark Night’s Passing, a book she was supposed to read the first few chapters for Literature next week. She was sure it was around somewhere, her father was a fan of classical Literature works and he had given some of those books to her, in hopes that she would need them some day. A Dark Night’s Passing was one of those; she just didn’t know the exact location of it in her book shelf.

Suddenly, she saw a brown book standing out from a colorful row of works, and frowned, grabbing it.

“And where did you come from?” she questioned out loud, opening it. As she tried to remember what that was, a white paper fell from inside and hit the floor swiftly. Rosa crouched down to pick it up, and realized that it wasn’t just any piece of paper; it was an envelope.

A memory suddenly came back to her. She remembered arriving to the dorms of Laguna Creek Academy, and the housemother telling her that the postman had delivered a letter for her that morning, which was in her room now. She rushed towards her bedroom, and found a white envelope with a colored frame decorating it, and she knew it was Rin’s.

Once she was done reading it, she put it inside that brown book, which was her personal diary, where she wrote her innermost thoughts and feelings. She stopped using it such a long time ago, that she completely forgot she had it.

She took out the letter from the envelope and sat down on her bed, to read it more comfortably.

 _Hey,_  
_Holidays are coming soon. I’ll return to Iwatobi for the break. Maybe I’ll run into Haru, Makoto or Nagisa while I’m there. My sis is very happy to see me again, and so is my mom. Everything’s okay over here! And…Uh…Thanks for helping me with homework and stuff…I owe you one. How are things over there? Are you okay? Write back soon._  
_-Rin_

Rosa had a huge smile on her face when she finished reading it. That was the last letter Rin ever wrote to her, and she remembered everything he talked about on it. He returned home for the holidays just like she did; her school was a boarding school, as you might already know, and she was free to return home for the holidays, but the rest of the year, she had to stay at the school.

And, to explain a bit about what Rin was talking about when he mentioned the homework…Rin didn’t know much English when he first went to Australia, so he struggled with making friends and passing his classes since he didn’t manage the language well, and, as Rosalya‘s mother tongue was English, he asked for her help, which she obviously gave. She was a huge part of the reason why Rin was able to adapt to Australia, even if they weren’t in the same place. And he knew that.

The gears then started to work in her head. That was Rin’s last letter to her, where he told her that he was coming back to Iwatobi for holidays. After that, she never heard from him again. She tried sending him more letters, emails and she even called his house once, wanting to know why Rin wasn’t answering any of her letters, maybe something had happened to him that he didn’t want to tell anybody about, but not even his mother could tell what was wrong, or if something was wrong at all.

Something happened for him to come back to Iwatobi, something brought him there again after four years, and that’s why he stopped getting in touch with Rosa. She was sure it wasn’t just a random coincidence, because Rin and her sent each other letters regularly, and they skyped almost every day. If she knew Rin at all, she knew he wouldn’t throw that away just like that. There had to be a reason.

And she was going to find out.


	5. Second Bittersweet Encounter

“Alright, here’s the deal!” announced Nagisa the next day, holding the form to start the new swimming club as they sat on the roof with the wind blowing gently “Since everyone’s on board, I got us an application”

“You don’t mess around!” exclaimed Makoto surprised, and Rosa had to agree. He was fast!

“Trust me, if you don’t get the ball rolling now, it won’t ever happen!” he replied, and placed the application in the middle of the circle they were forming “Let’s see, the main purpose of the club is to train our minds and bodies, improving our overall educational experience through the recreational wonder of swimming”

“Woah, Nagisa!” Rosa said with am impressed nod “You really know how to sell an idea”

“Thanks” replied Nagisa “The four of us will be the founding members. Mako, how do you feel about being our captain?”

“I-I don’t know, shouldn’t it be Haru?” he questioned with doubt “He’s the fastest swimmer”

“Being the captain doesn’t imply being the fastest swimmer” replied Rosa “It implies having leadership skills. And Haru….” she left the phrase hanging in the air, not wanting to offend him in any way.

After staring at his friend for a couple of minutes and imagining what he would be like as a leader, Mako decided that he agreed with Rosa’s words.

“Yeah, no way” he stated, looking back at Nagisa.

“So, Mako, you’re the captain. That just means that Haru gets to be your second-in-command!” he announced with excitement.

“Guys, please don’t volunteer me” said Haru, looking at his friends.

“Don’t worry!” Nagisa hurried to assure Haru before he changed his mind about the swimming club  
“Relax. The vice-captain is just a figurine, you have zero responsibility”

“Geez, thanks” said Rosa with clear sarcasm, rolling her eyes, and the three of them looked at her in pure surprise.

“Wait, Rosa, you were a vice-captain?” asked Nagisa.

“Yeah” replied the girl “Of my team in England. It is actually a very important position, you know? If the captain isn’t available, the vice-captain takes their place. They also work together to plan the training regimen of the day”

“I’m sure it is” Mako sincerely agreed with her words “Nagisa didn’t mean it like that”

“Yeah, sorry” replied said boy.

“That’s fine” she replied, shrugging it off.

“Why aren’t you the vice-captain then?” suggested Haru.

“One of the swimmers of the team would be the appropriate person to be the vice-captain” replied Rosa “And as I’m not gonna swim, I think you’d do a good job”

“Then that settles it!” exclaimed Nagisa “Haru is the vice-captain, I’ll be the treasurer and Rosa will be our coach!”

“I’m not going to go easy on you, you know?”

“We know” Nagisa nodded, remembering the training she put them through all those years ago  
“That’s why you get that position”

“Nagisa’s right, we’ll need to train hard if we want to enter a tournament” Makoto backed his friend up, making Rosalya smile.

“Well, I’ll make sure you do” stated the girl firmly “Now we are just missing…” she scanned the application “A faculty advisor”

“Anybody in mind?” questioned the olive haired, and Nagisa chuckled.

“Since you brought it up…I thought we’d ask Miss A”

“You think she’ll be interested?” his friend asked again.

“Based on this crazy rumor that’s been going around, I’m pretty sure she would” stated Nagisa, as the other three gave him confused glances, but he didn’t say anything else.

* * *

 

“What?” asked Miss A when she heard their proposition “That’s a sweet offer, but sports aren’t really my thing”

“But I thought you liked swimming” replied Nagisa “I was told that, until last year, you had a job in Tokyo that had to do with swimming” Miss A looked a bit horrified when she heard that, and she stood up promptly.

“I need you to tell me where you heard that please” she urged in a whisper, so no one else could chim in their conversation.

“Nashiramo told me” replied Nagisa the same “How come we are whispering?”

“In this previous job of yours…You were working for a swimsuit designer, right?” asked Rosa, having a slight idea of what her jobs was. She was still relatively young and had the body for it..

“Uh…Yes” replied the woman shyly “I…Suppose you could say that” the three friends’ faces lit up when they heard that.

“In that case, we would be very excited and honored to have you advise us on the technology that goes into competitive swimwear” stated Mako politely.

“We need you!” added Nagisa, and the three of them bowed deeply at her.

“Pretty please!”

“I…Suppose, if I’m genuinely needed” replied the woman, much to their excitement.

* * *

After asking Miss A to be their faculty advisor, Rosa and Gou were at Samezuka academy, determined to see Rin.

“Let’s hope he is here” said Rosa, as she looked around the place. She had promised Gou that she would help her find out what happened to Rin. But even if she hadn’t, she would eventually come anyway.

“I’m Matsuoka Rin’s sister, Gou, and this is Rosalya. We’re here to visit him” explained the young girl to the dorm manager, and the man’s gaze stood on the girl next to her.

“And who are you?” he asked, out of curiosity, and protocol, too, staring at them behind his glass panel.

“I’m his—“ she was about to say friend, but Gou quickly hurried and corrected her.

“She’s his girlfriend” she replied, and Rosalya opened her eyes wide as a red color took over her face.

“What?!” she whispered/yelled to the girl as the man pressed a couple buttons, and made some calls into a phone.

“Shh. Just go with it” said Gou back in the same way. She didn’t know the policy of the visitors, for all she knew only family could visit, and a girlfriend was like family.

And also, she loved teasing Rosa.

“It appears he hasn’t come back yet” the man spoke up, raising his gaze to look at them.

“Oh, he hasn’t?” replied Gou “Okay, thank you” they bowed at him and went off “He must still be at the pool”

“This wasn’t part of the plan!” scolded Rosa.

“You promise you’d help!” reminded the other girl.

“How is saying I’m his girlfriend helping?”

“It’s not as if you don’t want it though” she replied, knowing about the black haired’s crush on Rin. The two girls were good friends, since Rosa and Rin spent almost all of their time together, they had talked quite a bit and hanged out a lot.

“Shut up!” said Rosa, making Gou chuckle as the two of them got into the building  
where the swimming pool was.

“Excuse me?” asked the youngest Matsuoka to a couple of guys standing in the hall just before the pool, but her attention was quickly captured by the countless shirtless boys inside. Rosa smiled a bit, shaking her head as if saying ‘Oh, this girl’.

“So this is the famous Rosalya” said a guy with red hair and brown eyes, looking at Rosa with his arms folded and a warm smile. Rosa was taken back by this sudden attitude, since he was talking as if he knew her all his life.

“Uh…I’m sorry, who are you?” she questioned with a frown, having never seen this guy beforehand.

“Nathan Lance” he replied, introducing himself the traditional way, and sticking his hand out for her to shake. He had never completely gotten used to the Japanese way of saying names, and he was glad he could say it normally while talking to Rosa, since she also came from England, where people introduced themselves…’Normally’. Realization then hit the girl.

“You’re Joy’s twin, aren’t you?” she said, starting to see the similarities between them. The same hair-colour, and that same smile.

“That’s me” he confirmed with a nod.

“Nice to meet you, Nathan” she replied, placing her hand on his and shaking it. She didn’t introduce herself because he obviously already knew who she was

“Call me Nate” he stated, placing his hands in his jacket pocket.

“Only if you call me Rosa” she said back, and Nate chuckled.

“Deal” the girl then remembered that Gou was also there with them, and she felt bad.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” she apologized when she saw her standing there awkwardly, not really knowing how to act or what to say “This is Gou Matsuoka” she introduced, placing a hand on her shoulder

“Gou, this is Nathan Lance. He’s my best friend’s twin brother”

“Nice to meet you, Matsuoka” he stated smiling, once again taking up the Japanese form.

“Nice to meet you too”

“So, who are you looking for?” he questioned, knowing that the girls were here to see someone from the team.

“Rin Matsuoka” replied Rosa, and Nate frowned, trying to see if that name rang a bell.

“Doesn’t sound familiar”

But, then again, he wasn’t good with names so it was entirely possible he had met him, but forgot about it.

“Maybe the captain knows” he added, wanting to help the girls “Hey, Captain!” he called, looking to the side. Soon enough, another guy with red hair approached them.

“Hey, how’s it going?” he greeted “You’re the gals looking for her brother and boyfriend, yeah?” Rosa was about to correct him and tell him that she wasn’t actually his girlfriend, but Gou spoke up first, much to her annoyance.

“Yeah, right” Seijuro froze for a moment upon seeing the maroon haired clearly.

“Uh, this is gonna sound weird, but…You’re incredibly cute” he admitted, blushing slightly. Nathan chuckled a bit upon hearing that.

“Oh, thank you!” she said with a smile “And you’re right, we’re here to see Matsuoka Rin”

“Matsuoka, huh?” asked Seijuro “Sorry to disappoint, but there’s no one by that name in the swim team” Rosa frowned upon hearing that.

Rin wasn’t in the swim team? How come? Why was he attending Samezuka otherwise?

“Though I gotta say, whoever this guy is, he’s very lucky ” said Seijuro looking at Rosa, who almost died of embarrassment.

“He is indeed” Nate agreed with a nod.

“Oh, I’m not really—“ she started to say, but Gou stomped her foot to tell her to keep playing along “Thank you” she said, trying to ignore the pain on her foot.

When the captain turned around, Rosa gave her friend a murderous glance, but she just smiled innocently.

“It was nice to meet you both” Nathan spoke up before they left “Let’s talk again sometime”

“I’ll take you up on that offer” Rosa pointed out with a big smile, before going off with her friend. Nathan seemed like a really nice person.

* * *

 

That evening, after returning from Samezuka, Rosalya took Toby out for a jog.

Even though she wasn’t swimming anymore, she was still an athlete and she still did exercise. She went out for a jog and occasionally hit the gym, because she liked exercising in general, but swimming was her passion. Or...Used to be.

Speaking of, she was still confused as to why Rin wasn’t on the Samezuka team.

Why else would he return to Australia and start attending Samezuka if it wasn’t to join the swimming team? She had tried calling him like three times to his phone, but she didn’t receive a reply, and Rosa was sure that he was just ignoring her, because he always had his phone on him.

Suddenly, Toby started barking loudly, making Rosa frown, since he didn’t usually do that.

“Toby? What’s wrong?” she asked, staring at the direction he was barking in, but she didn’t see anything “There’s nothing there” she observed, but the dog kept barking. Then, he stopped, and started running instead “Hey! Toby, slow down!” he was pulling with strength, which forced Rosa to let go of the leash, and that helped him to increase his speed on his way to whatever he had seen.

When Rosa finally caught up to him, she saw her dog jumping onto someone and knocking them down. The girl opened her eyes wide upon seeing that “Toby! Look what you’ve done!” she scolded, looking at the dog in disapproval, who whined and lowered his ears in shame, and she felt bad but didn’t try to fix it “I’m so—“ she turned to the side to apologize to whoever had ended up on the floor, and she froze for a few seconds.

Rin.

“Rin!” exclaimed the girl, regaining her composure. Toby had probably recognized the boy’s scent “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” she grabbed the leash with her left hand, and extended her right one towards the boy “Here, let me help you!” Rin grabbed her hand, and stood up. It was warm all of a sudden, and his face felt hot.

“What are you doing here?” he questioned, going back to being his emotionless self.

“Jogging” replied the girl with a smile. She was as cheerful as Rin remembered her to be “I need to stay in shape, and Toby here needs to get tired so he can sleep tonight, but I guess he has a lot more energy than I remembered” she added the last part with a small chuckle “And you?”

“Same” he muttered, not really finding anything else to say, but Rosa had plenty.

“Hey, Gou and I went to pay you a visit to Samezuka today!” she announced “We were told that you weren’t back yet, so we went to check with the team captain, but he told us that you weren’t in the team”

“I didn’t have the chance to join yet” he replied bluntly.

“What are you waiting for?” asked Rosa inquisitive, placing her arms behind her back, but Rin didn’t answer, so she changed the subject “Well, anyway, Nagisa, Makoto, Haru and I are starting a swimming club at Iwatobi!” she announced, making Rin raise an eyebrow upon hearing that. Haru was joining a swimming club? “I hope we can see you in tournaments!” she added “It would be fun to swim together again”

“Whatever” he replied uninterested, making Rosa frown, but she didn’t say anything “I gotta go” he added, and went off, not bothering to look back, leaving Rosa with her thoughts.

Why was he acting that way towards her? Had she said something to offend him? She hoped not, she’d hate for Rin to be angry at her. But what was going on with him otherwise?


	6. The Swimming Team...

_“Hey, do you want to watch one of the movies I brought?” twelve year old Rosalya Tawaraya exclaimed to her best friend, sitting on the floor next to him. The relay was tomorrow, and Rosa’s family was out of town for a small holiday nearby; since the tournament was the week they left and they knew Rosa wouldn’t want to go, they originally arranged for her to stay with her aunt Delaney, but Rin had a better idea. A sleepover, at his house. Rosa didn’t need much convincing, neither did Rin’s mom, but the girl’s parents were another thing. They claimed that they didn’t want to bother his family, but they weren’t bothered at all, in fact, they were more than happy to welcome her in. Rin’s little sister, Gou, was particularly excited since she would finally be able to meet the girl her brother talked so much about._

_Then, they tried to argue with the girl that her aunt was already expecting her at her house and had even arranged her shifts at work to be able to spend more time with her niece. But when Rosalya told her aunt the plan with Rin, she was unbothered. Delighted even, saying she would have more fun that way. But still, her parents were not convinced._

_So, Rosalya had to appeal to her last resort. Pity._

_‘But mom, after the tournament, Rin is leaving for Australia! I won’t be able to see him again! Pretty please! Everything will be fine, I promise’_

_A sigh._

_‘Fine. But only the night before the relay, afterwards off to your aunt’s you go’_

_And so, here they were, at 10 PM in Rin’s room debating what to do with their time. They didn’t have a curfew, which Rosa found very nice of Rin’s mom. And they weren’t tired either._

_“Why not” Rin replied with a shrug; it was an entertaining idea._

_“I brought three” the girl replied, walking over to her bag and taking them out “These are all north american movies, which means they’re in English” her friend couldn’t suppress a grin._

_“C’mon now, are you really going to test me like that?” he asked good-heartedly._

_“To be fair, it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to practice your english” she replied, going back to him and placing the DVDs on the floor “But they have subtitles. My father is a huge fan of these movies, so when we moved here he made sure to bring his entire collection”_

_“What are the options?” he questioned curiously, looking down and trying to read and understand the titles._

_“We have an action/spy/thriller called Mission: Impossible” she motioned to the first one “It’s kind of old, but a classic” she moved on to the next one “This is my all time favourite animated movie called How To Train Your Dragon” Rin frowned._

_“Isn’t that a children’s movie?” Rosa opened her eyes wide._

_“Excuse me, but this movie is a masterpiece” she said sharply, folding her arms, and Rin found her expression cute. She looked like a child who had just been denied candy._

_“Okay, sorry” he chuckled “And what’s the last one?”_

_“Uhm...A horror movie” she replied, shifting on her seat “The Conjuring, it came out fairly recently, but I don’t think-”_

_“Oh, I want to watch that one!” Rin said eagerly, and that was what Rosa feared._

_“A-are you sure? There are-” he folded his arms upon hearing her shaky voice, and smirked._

_“Are you scared by any chance?”_

_“No way” she replied, doing her best to make her voice sound steady._

_“Then there’s no problem in watching it” he stated, grabbing the DVD and walking over to the TV. Rosa didn’t say anything, she just brought her legs to her chest and waited for the movie to start, as her friend turned off the lights and came back to her. She took notice of the blanket lying besides her, in case she needed it._

_That blanket never left her body, since It turned out that bringing that movie was the worst mistake she had ever made._

_As it went on, she grew more and more uneasy. With each passing second, she huddled closer and closer to Rin instinctively, who didn’t seem frightened at all. She didn’t understand how._

_“Are you okay there?” he couldn’t help teasing upon feeling her movements._

_“I’m fine” she replied stubbornly “I’m just cold”_

_“In the middle of summer?” he asked with another grin, and she just hit his shoulder in annoyance, to which he chuckled._

_She grasped the blanket tightly around her, as if it would protect her, while one of the characters in the movie looked behind her, thinking there was something there while she held a mirror with her hand._

_Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, her knuckles almost hurting because of how firm her grip on the blanket was._

_The character lowered the mirror, and a demonic face appeared._

_Rosalya gasped and hid her head in Rin’s chest, a scream threatening to leave her throat, but she held it back since everyone else in the house was sleeping._

_“I thought you said you weren’t scared!” Rin kept on teasing, it was too fun to see her like that. She was usually very strict and firm while training them or even swimming herself, but he was seeing her in a new light._

_“S-shut up” she replied, raising her head from his chest to look back at the TV, but her hand held tightly to Rin’s arm. Digging her fingers into his skin, she was terrified._

_“Would it make you feel better if I turned on the lights?” the boy asked, actually beginning to get worried now._

_“Y-yeah, a little bit” she replied, and Rin nodded. He softly moved her hand from his arm, and stood up, beginning to make his way towards the switch next to the bed, stumbling through the darkness. The movie’s background was dark as well, being a horror movie and all, so he had no indicator of whether he was going in the right direction or not._

_Until he took a step forward, and the rug underneath him slipped, causing him to fall into something soft and hear a low ‘oomph’_

_“A-are you okay?” he quickly questioned._

_“I got it” he heard the girl’s voice speaking up, and the light was turned on._

_And when he looked down, he found out that when he fell, he had landed on the her body. His gaze lingered on her for a second, before finally jumping off._

_“S-sorry” he apologized in embarrassment, sticking out his hand to help her up “Are you hurt?”_

_“Physically no” she replied, her humour coming back along with the lights, taking notice that Rin’s hand was still holding hers, but making no comment on it. It was warm “Emotionally? I’m traumatized”_

_“S-sorry” he said, averting her gaze. The movie was still playing in the background, but they weren’t focused on it anymore “I didn’t think it would scare you so much”_

_“Are you calling me a scaredy-cat?” she asked, feigning offense “Rin Matsuoka, how dare you!”_

_“You were the one who said you weren’t scared!” he replied defensively, making her chuckle slightly._

_“Fair enough”_

_“Never again will I watch another horror movie in my life” she admitted later that night, the lights turned off to hide the fact that they were still awake at 1 AM despite having to wake up in just a few hours. They were head to toe on the one single bed._

_“Why are you set on giving me a hard time?” he asked good-heartedly “I said I was sorry”_

_“You were the ones who made me watch that movie, so the least you can do is hear about my traumas” she replied the same way, and heard him chuckle, which made her smile._

_Silence reigned for some minutes, the girl’s head swarming with thoughts of everything that had happened the past months. Meeting the guys, training them for the relay, and even the relay itself. Everything would culminate with that. All the training, all the time they spent in that pool was going to round off with that relay. Afterwards, she was off to England. She probably wouldn’t see Rin or any of them for a very long time. She was happy about it, of course, swimming was part of her and there was nothing she wanted more than to become the best she could be at it, but she had to admit, it was going to be hard saying goodbye. She had only known them for a couple months, but it felt like much more. She was so glad she decided to talk to them that day at the pool, she didn’t want to know what would have happened if she hadn’t. She couldn’t even begin to imagine it._

_“Hey, Rin?” she couldn’t see him, but could feel his eyes on her “Thank you for choosing me to be in the relay team with you”_

_“There wasn’t anyone else” he replied with a smile “It couldn’t be anyone else”_

_“But why me specifically?” she asked curiously, that question had been roaming in her head for a while now “We barely knew each other”_

_“I don’t know” she felt him shifting on the other side of the bed “There was just something about you. Call it an instinct, but I just felt it would work, somehow. If that even makes sense”_

_“It does” the girl nodded in her spot “And I’m glad you did”_

* * *

 

“I’m afraid the price of admission is making this pool usable again” stated Miss A the next day.

“At least we got a pool now” commented Rosalya, trying to remain optimistic. The four of them and Miss A were standing in front of the mess that was the only pool of the school. The club had been approved, but they would have to do all the work on their own.

Rosalya, Nagisa and Miss A spotted Haru and Makoto scurrying backwards, but Rosalya held Haru’s arm and Nagisa held Makoto’s to prevent them from walking away.

“There’s no running away, guys” said Nagisa with an innocent smile, which contrasted with his threatening glare.

“You said you were willing to do anything!” reminded Rosalya “If this is the price we have to pay, we’re gonna do it”

And so, the four of them spent the next couple of days trying to bring the pool back to its original state, and preventing Haru from stripping in front of fish tanks.

“The pool’s looking great!” exclaimed Miss A one day, sitting on a deckchair while watching the four friends cleaning up the pool “Keep it up!”

“Uh, ma’am?” Nagisa called as Rosalya spread blue paint on one of the walls. Her clothes were full of stains, so she was glad she chose to wear something old, something she would probably one wear that time and then throw it in the trash “Is there any chance you might just do something besides giving us moral support?”

“Which is appreciated, but not very useful” added the girl, trying to kill her with kindness.

“No, there is not” replied the woman sternly “UV rays are an absolute nightmare for complexions like mine! We, fair-skinned folk, have to be extremely cautious about the sun!”

“But Rosa is helping out, too, and she has the same complexion as you!” argued the boy.

“Woah, incredible job, you guys!” the voice of Gou was heard as she looked around the pool. She couldn’t even remember what the pool before they worked on it looked like.

“Thanks!” exclaimed Nagisa “Are you here to lend a hand, Gou?” he added, pronouncing her name wrong again.

“I was gonna give you a gift, but since you called me that, maybe I’ll reconsider!” Rosalya rolled her eyes upon hearing the childish discussion yet again.

“Sorry, it was an accident!” he stated, but the black haired was sure it wasn’t.

“I’ll leave this juice here in case you guys feel thirsty” Rosalya looked to the side, to find the other girl leaving a grocery bag on the floor.

“Great. Thanks a lot, Gou” Rosa replied, smiling at her.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” she questioned softly, kneeling down besides her, and making her look at her curiously.

“Yeah, sure” she nodded, and left the paintbrush on the can to give the girl her full attention.

“Why did you quit swimming? You used to love it so much” Rosalya’s heart sunk a bit upon hearing the girl’s words “I remember the day of the relay, you looked so happy” she stayed silent for a few minutes before speaking up again.

“I don’t feel like going into the details, but if you really wanna know…It has to do with my brother” Gou looked at the girl silently, waiting for her to keep talking “After he died…It just didn’t feel right to continue”

“Then why did you join the swimming club?” she questioned curiously, and logically, too. If Rosa didn’t swim anymore, why was she part of a club created to do just that?

She smiled upon hearing that.

“Because I love to hang out with these guys” she replied, giving Mako, Nagisa and Haru a glance over her shoulder. They were talking cheerfully “And I want to see them happy. They all looked so excited with this idea, I didn’t want to let them down. I want to support them as much as possible” Gou smiled slightly upon hearing her words “If you want me to be honest, they are the reason I transferred back here” her friend looked at her curiously upon hearing that “I could’ve gone anywhere else, but I didn’t. I came here just to be able to see them again and hang out with them like we used to, I needed a fresh start” giving the guys one last glance, she turned to look at Gou “And can I ask you something now?” she questioned, making her nod “You said that if Rin saw us he might open up about what happened in Australia, especially since I was there. What did you mean by that?”

“Rin was talking about you all the time when he came back for holidays” she replied, making Rosalya look at her curiously “He mentioned how you helped him to adapt to Australia, how you talked every week and told each other about your days. You meant a lot to him. I don’t know what happened to make him act the way he did towards you”

“Neither do I” replied Rosalya with a sigh “And it’s disconcerting. I just hope I didn’t do anything to hurt him” she added.

“I’m sure it’s not your fault” Gou replied. With how much her brother cared about this girl, she was sure it was impossible for him to get angry at her over anything.

“Thanks” said Rosa with a small smile “I want him to be okay, that’s all”

The two girls stayed in silence for a few minutes, until the younger one spoke up again.

“I’d like to join your swim team” the black haired looked at her surprised upon hearing that.

“Really?!” she questioned in English, but didn’t bother to apologize. She was way too excited about the fact that Gou wanted to join to focus on anything else

“Yes” replied the girl firmly “My brother needs to get back on track. This will light a fire under him” the girl couldn’t help smiling; Gou really loved Rin, she could tell “If you’re willing to let me join, I think I’ll be really efficient as the club’s manager”

“Did she just say what I think she said?!” Nagisa yelled from the other side of the pool upon hearing her words.

“Yeah, Gou just agreed to be our fifth swim club member!” Rosalya yelled back.

“Awesome! You know what this means, right?! The swim club is officially open for business!”

* * *

 

When Rosalya went out for a jog that evening, she went by the old indoor pool they guys and her used to go, and found Mako staring at it.

“Hey, Mako” she greeted, and approached him. When the boy saw her, he smiled.

“Hi, Rosa. Out for a jog?” he questioned, upon seeing the sporty clothes the girl was wearing.

“Yeah, I need to get some exercise in” she replied “What about you? What are you doing here at this hour?”

“I just came by to look at it one last time” he replied, and Rosa smiled in understanding. There were a lot of good memories stored in that building, it would be hard to just see it disappear.

“Like a knife through the heart” they heard a man’s voice behind them, and turned around to find a blonde man wearing a pizza delivery uniform, leaning against a delivery cart “Nothing like watching your dreams come crashing down around ya, huh? Quite a sight” he turned to look at them, and Rosalya found him familiar “So what’s your story? Used to come around here a lot?. Sure you did. Why else would be standing right here in the middle of the night?” Mako and Rosalya exchanged glances as they recognized the man, before turning to look back at him.

“Coach Sasabe?!” both of them questioned at the same time, and the man frowned at them, not recognizing them.

“Do you remember us?” questioned Mako excited, leaning close to him “I’m Tachibana Makoto, and that’s Tawaraya Rosalya” recognition was then written on the man’s face.

“Last time I saw you, you were 4’0 high!” he exclaimed “And your hair was shorter!” he added the last part looking at Rosalya. Both friends chuckled upon hearing that.

“It’s been a while!” replied the girl “I recently came back after five years of being abroad!”

“Oh, right! You were going to a swimming school in England, weren’t you? How did it go?!” he asked, and Rosalya did her best to sound cheerful and muster a smile.

“Good, actually!” she replied “But I needed some time off” she added, not specifying why.

“Yeah, things changed for me, too” replied the coach, giving the delivery cart a small pat “I’m a pizza delivery guy now. So, tell me, you dropped by to see it one last time?”

“Isn’t that why you’re here?” questioned Mako.

“I just finished a delivery and thought ‘Why not?’” said the man casually “What about the rest of your crew? How are they doing?”

“Great!” breathed out the boy “We go to the same school as Haru and Nagisa, actually”

“And what about Rin? Are you still friends?” Rosalya and Mako exchanged sly glances upon hearing that, before the girl spoke up for both of them.

“Things are not like they used to be” she said, trying to ease the way she was saying that they weren’t “He goes to a different school now”

“Yeah, I ran into him right after he got back from Australia” commented the coach “To tell you the truth, I was worried about him. The kid’s pretty hard on himself, for someone who has the world on a plate” she arched her eyebrows upon hearing that.

“What do you mean ‘hard on himself’?” she questioned, folding her arms with interest.

“Wait a second. Are you saying that Haruka never told you the story?” demanded the coach, which only increased Rosalya and Mako’s curiosity “I think it was in the Winter Break of your first year on middle school. I was closing down the place for the day when Haru and Rin showed up out of the blue asking for a little pool time” he was retelling something that happened in the past “They must’ve run into each other while he was back home”

“Why did they meet up at the club? So they could race each other?”

“Knowing Rin, it wouldn’t surprise me” she stated with a small chuckle “He spends more time in the water than in his own house. What happened after that? Did they finally race?”

“If you can call that a race” said the coach “Haru smoked him, it wasn’t even close. Needless to say, Rin was pretty upset. Not that anyone could blame him. I mean, he studied swimming at a prestigious school overseas and it still didn’t make a difference”

The girl was frozen in place as she let that sink in. During their first year of middle school, Rin and Rosalya still spoke to each other, and never once did her friend tell her about that.

Why?

“Something wrong, guys?” questioned the coach, upon seeing that the two teens hadn’t said a word in quite some minutes. Rosa took a glance at Mako, and he also seemed lost in thought.

“I’m fine” he replied softly, and Rosalya could notice that he was still thinking about something.

* * *

 

“Could that be why Haru quit competitive swimming?” wondered Rosalya, once the coach was gone and both teens were standing on the road, looking at the ocean.

“I think it is” stated Mako with a nod “Because he hurt Rin so badly”

“I was still talking to Rin in that period, and he never mentioned anything to me about it” commented Rosa, as she stared at the night sky.

“I’m sure there must be some sort of explanation” said the boy, trying to comfort his friend.

“I guess”

“So you and Rin kept in touch, huh?” her friend questioned leaning on the rail in front of them, happy that their friendship kept going despite the distance. Out of the entire group, Rin and Rosalya were the closest ones to each other, and nobody needed to tell the rest that. It was true they all got along amazingly, but the friendship that those two shared didn’t have comparison.

“Yeah” she replied with a nod, imitating his posture “In fact, for the first four years, we talked almost every week” she added, remembering some of the conversation she shared with Rin. From funny, to happy, to emotional. There wasn’t a topic they hadn’t talked about, but somehow they always found something new to say. They never ran out of ideas “Afterwards, he went sort of quiet” and for a year she never heard anything from him, she got really worried. He didn’t answer any of his calls or letters no matter how much she insisted, and then her brother passed away and...Well, she didn’t have the energy to keep on doing that.

“How was he doing?” Mako asked, since he hadn’t heard anything from the boy up until a couple days ago. He was very interested about his time abroad.

“Good” she stated with a small smile “At least, that’s what he always showed to me” she knitted her eyebrows together “I keep wondering if there’s something I missed, because he wasn’t like this before”

“What do you mean?” the boy questioned with a frown, and the girl remained quiet for a few seconds, debating whether she should tell him about the previous day or not. She didn’t want to worry Mako, but it was probably too late now after what Sasabe told them a couple minutes ago.

“Gou and I went to Samezuka yesterday to visit Rin” she began explaining, folding her arms and leaning her back towards the rail this time “And we got told by the swimming team captain, that he wasn’t even on the team”

“Really?” Mako questioned in surprise.

“It’s really weird” she replied “One would think that if he came back home from Australia and enrolled in Samezuka, aka the best swimming team in the city, the first thing he would do would be to sign up for said team. Especially knowing how he is”

“Yeah…” he trailed off, looking back at the horizon “Do you think that he knows we started a swimming team?”

“He definitely does” she replied, not specifying how she knew that exactly “Maybe that’ll change his mind” and then she added in a low voice, mostly to herself “I hope it does”


	7. ...Which Is Not Complete Yet

Haru sneezed for the tenth time as Rosalya, Mako and Nagisa sat around him at his house.

Mr. Haruka though that getting into the pool in the middle of April would be a good idea, and here he was, with a blanket wrapped around him, a cup of tea in his hand and a terrible cold.

“That sounds bad” commented the younger boy.

“This is what you get for getting in the swimming pool in the middle of April” said Rosa with a scolding tone “What were you even thinking?” she grabbed a box of tissues, and handed it to him so he could grab one.

“I know what Grandma would’ve said about this” Haru replied with a sniff, ignoring Rosa’s question “She would’ve told me I’m sneezing because someone’s talking about me” Rosalya frowned skeptical upon hearing that; she wasn’t sure she believed it.

“It must be Rin who’s talking about you!” said Nagisa, always with a cheerful tone.

“Nah, I’m pretty sure he is just sick” replied the girl.

“Yeah” Mako commented with a soft chuckle “Afterall, you did decide to go swimming in April”

“I’m not some baby who gets sick for—“ he started to argue, but another sneeze cut him off.

“You were saying?” Rosa teased with a grin, but Haru didn’t say anything “It’s not warm enough to swim outdoors yet” she added “You’ll have to hit the gym and go jogging ‘till the weather gets better. That’s why, as your coach, I used up my monthly savings to sign you all up for a subscription on the gym, so you better go. Don’t make me waste my money” she said sternly, and the guys began sweating upon hearing how scary she sounded.

“Yes, ma’am” they replied promptly, much to her satisfaction.

“Good”

“Hey, guess what I heard from Gou” Nagisa spoke up, recovering his cheerful tone “She just told me that Rin joined the Samezuka swimming team!” Rosalya opened her eyes wide upon hearing that, and immediately exchanged glances with Makoto, both thinking the same thing.

Why now? Could it be because...

“Hey, what do you have those funny looks on your faces for?” Nagisa questioned, noticing his two friends were sneaking stares to each other, causing them to immediately look back at him.

“Nothing in particular” Makoto replied, coming to the decision that he would not say what Rosa told him last night, he wasn’t sure she wanted to, and it really didn’t matter now “Since Rin is on a team, there’s a chance we might see him at a tournament” he commented, and the boys’ face lit up like a Christmas tree.

“So let’s sign up for one already!” he exclaimed with excitement “We can totally dominate the relays!”

“You can’t dominate anything yet” said Rosa in ‘coach mode’ “You’re not signing up for anything until I see that you are fit for it, and you aren’t right now. You need to train a lot harder for that”

“So cold!” said Nagisa upon hearing the girl’s tone.

“You wanted me as a coach, you know what that implies” she replied, and he hung his head in shame “Don’t look so down, you’ll be fine”

“Yeah, you’re right!” he said, his cheerful tone returning “Once we train, we will be able to dominate the relays!”

“You know I only swim freestyle” Haru said his catch phrase.

“Are you telling us you don’t swim relays anymore?!” questioned the orange haired, once again upset with his decisions “Haru, tell me that’s not true!” said boy didn’t say anything, and Nagisa proceeded to place his hand in what could only be described as ‘praying’ mode “Please just swim with us!”

“We can’t enter the relay because we only have three people” said Haru logically, and he was right. Relays had to be between four people.

“Does that mean we gotta find another swimmer to join our team?!” questioned Nagisa exasperated, before kneeling down in front of Rosalya pleadingly “Rosa, please be a swimmer!” he begged, and she felt bad for declining, but she couldn’t say yes.

“I’m sorry, Nagisa” she said, shaking her head sadly “Even if I wanted to, you still wouldn’t be allowed to compete in a relay unless we had another girl” if they did, they would be able to swim a mixed relay, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

“You think Gou would want to?” Nagisa questioned, and Rosa didn’t know if he was joking or actually serious.

“I think she’d rather die than touch the water” the girl replied “She doesn’t know how to swim”

“She could learn!” he insisted with unfazed hope, as Rosa looked at him sympathetically.

“I know you really want to do this, Nagi, but that’s not really a choice we can make right now” she comforted, knowing very well how excited relays got Nagisa, specially because of that first one that changed all their lives “Maybe some other time, for now, we should just focus on toning up your bodies for Summer”

“Alright” he finally agreed with a slight not, and Rosa rubbed his shoulder in an attempt to make him feel better. Haru didn’t seem to want to swim in a relay, so if they actually decided to compete in that event, they would need to find another boy, and they didn’t have another girl. It seemed the wind was blowing against them.

* * *

 

“How was the tournament?” questioned Rosalya to Joy as she sat on the train taking her to school the next morning.

“Woah, Rosalya Tawaraya asking about a swimming tournament? What’s up with the world?!” asked Joy dramatically, making her friend roll her eyes.

“Shut up” she said with a chuckle “I may not swim anymore, but you’re still my friend and I wanna know what’s up”

“Well, I got the first place in the 100m, but we got the third place in the relay medley” replied the girl, which reminded Rosalya that they still needed to find a fourth swimmer so the guys could swim in a relay “You alright? You went quiet all of a sudden”

“I’m fine” she assured,, as she stared at the fields through the window. There was a guy, who Rosa recognized as Ryugazaki, she didn’t know his first name, and he seemed to be running to school; it was quite impressive “I just have a lot in my mind at the moment. We started a swim team with the guys”

“Really?!” questioned Joy with clear excitement “That’s great!” then, Rosa heard some sort of groaning in the background.

“What’s that?” she wondered with a frown.

“My roommate is sleeping” her friend replied with a lower tone of voice than she had been speaking with so far “I have to be more quiet”

“Oh, what is she like?” Rosa asked curiously.

“She’s chill” replied the girl simply “But she might have a bit of an obsession with makeup”

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good” Rosalya stated calmly. She didn’t usually wear makeup unless it was a special occasion, but she found nothing wrong with applying it daily.

“It is if most of her drawers are filled with it” Joy replied sharply “I have no idea where she keeps her clothes”

“Maybe she doesn’t have that many” Rosa suggested.

“I see her wearing a different outfit everyday, I doubt it” Joy commented “And they’re pretty cute at that” the black haired chuckle, knowing Joy was very interested in fashion “But that’s all I’ve noticed. Other than that, we get along pretty well. But let’s get back to you, so you started a swimming team?”

“Don’t get your hopes up, though” Rosa quickly said before her friend could assume anything “I’m not gonna swim. I’m the coach”

“It’s still cool” replied the girl “And what’s the problem?”

“We gotta find another swimmer if they are gonna swim a relay medley, but we haven’t been having much luck. No one is interested in a new club with not achievements whatsoever”

“That’s too bad” replied Joy “But with your determination and the guys’, I’m sure you’ll find someone. You just have to be optimistic!”

“That’s what I live for” replied Rosa with a smile “Anyway, I gotta go. The train is arriving at school soon”

“Sure, girl” Joy replied “I need to get to sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow”

“See ya” replied Rosa, before hanging up.

* * *

 

“Woah! So we’d be swimming in this place during the off season?” asked Nagisa excited, as Gou showed them a poster of a really luxurious gym with an indoor pool “It looks amazing!”

“Right?!” the girl replied with a small giggle “I did a little research on how the other schools that don’t have indoor pools train during the off season, and I stumbled upon this place”

“It’s awesome, Gou! You’re a great manager!” said the orange haired. Gou opened her mouth to, probably, correct how Nagisa pronounced her name, but Rosa interrupted, not wanting to hear it again.

“Don’t” she stated “That’s all he’s calling you, so you might as well get used to it” the girl groaned, but didn’t say anything, knowing her friend was probably right.

“Oh, hey, Haru” greeted the maroon haired, and they turned around to find said boy standing there. He snatched the poster from her hand and took a good look at it.

“Who pays?” he questioned silently.

“The club will!” replied Gou with a smile “Who else?”

“Just from the flyer, you can tell that the dues of this place are going to be pretty high” commented Makoto.

“No kidding” replied Rosalya “I think it could pay for my whole life insurance” Haru was lost in thought, and the olive haired notices, before speaking up.

“Maybe we should give up” he commented jokingly.

“No way” replied Haru, looking to the other side, making him smile.

“We’ll be able to swim all year round!” celebrated Nagisa.

But it didn’t turn out to be so easy as they thought.

“Sorry, guys, but it’s not possible” Miss A stated when they came to her with the idea.

“How come?” questioned the orange haired sadly.

“Well, frankly, it wouldn’t be responsible of the school to provide that kind of funding to a brand new club that doesn’t have any sort of track record” she replied logically, and Rosalya had to give her some reason “This reminds me of a phrase from the bible that says ‘He who does not work neither shall he eat’”

“I don’t think that really applies to our situation here” replied Mako.

“Yeah, how are you supposed to eat a pool?” added Nagisa, and Rosa found his innocence cute.

“Guys, it’s not literal” she replied, looking at her friends, who stared back at her curiously “What she means, is that we have to work to be able to afford paying for this place”

“Exactly” Miss A nodded with a proud smile “I’m glad you get it, Tawaraya” the girl smiled slightly upon hearing that.

“So you’re saying that if we wrack up some accomplishments you can get us the money?” questioned Gou, holding the flyer in front of the teacher’s face.

“That’s correct” the woman nodded “More accomplishments, more money, and the easier it’ll be to justify providing the funds to your club”

“If the team places in the summer tournament, would that be enough?” questioned Rosa after reflecting a bit, looking at the woman, and the other’s faces lit up with excitement upon hearing what their friend was suggesting.

“Pull that off, they might approve your request of the budget meeting” replied the woman.

“I see…” she mumbled, and Nagisa leaned closer to her.

“Does that mean what I think it means?!” questioned the boy with excitement, and Rosalya couldn’t suppress a smile.

“It does” replied the girl with a nod “We are signing up for the tournament”

“Yes!” Nagisa celebrated, and hugged the girl tightly making her chuckle “Thank you, Rosa! You’re amazing!”

“You’ll have to work even harder” she replied. They still weren’t fit enough, and, besides, there were still a few months left before summer came and they could use the pool “I will have to completely reinvent your gym regime to make sure you’re ready in a month” she added absentmindedly, as she thought of what she could modify.

“But you’ll need at least four swimmers” Miss A spoke up once more, making everyone look at her  
“With just the three of you, you won’t qualify for anything”

“Let’s get to work!” stated Haru, who, until then, had been talking to himself in a low voice. Without leaving time for anyone to say anything, he went off to recruit someone.

“Haru?” questioned Mako, watching after the boy with a curious glance, while everyone else did the same.

“Haru looks really motivated, doesn’t he?” asked Nagisa, as the black haired left the office, and the others followed behind to see what he would do.

“Didn’t you already try to recruit almost everyone in the school?” questioned Rosa, giving Nagisa a glance with her arms folded.

“Yeah, and no one seemed interested” he replied, his gaze never leaving Haru.

“Oh, this is so not going to end well” commented the girl, shaking her head as they watched how Haru tried to talk to two students standing close to the window about the team, and how he failed miserably.

“We’re doomed” said Mako with a sigh “It’s a lost cause if that’s the best he can do”

“Hang in there, Haru!” Nagisa yelled in encouragement.

* * *

 

“We’re almost there!”

Nagisa exclaimed as he dragged Haru, Mako, Rosa and Gou to the courtyard, because, apparently, he had found a member for the swimming team.

“But if he’s in the track team, he can’t join us” said the younger Matsuoka logically.

“Look, he’s over there!” Nagisa exclaimed, and pointed out to Ryugazaki stretching “This is his fate! It’s written in the stars!” he added with enthusiasm.

“Did he use to swim in some other team?” questioned Haru, not very convinced.

“Or maybe he set some kind of record?” added Gou, looking at him.

“No, it’s because of his name!” replied Nagisa, still staring at Ryugazaki.

“His name?” repeated Rosa with a frown “What about it?”

“His name is Ryugazaki Rei” replied Nagisa “He’s just like us! Check it out, he’s a guy who’s got a girly name”

“That’s you reason?!” questioned Rosalya in disbelief “Because of his name?! That doesn’t make any sense!”

“Well, actually…” started Gou, looking (more like admiring) Ryugazaki “On second thought, his muscles are incredible” she said, almost shining. Rosa couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her comment.

“And you think that’s the reason why he should be in our swim club?” questioned Makoto in disbelief as he stared at their manager.

“Yes, it’s a great reason!” she replied.

“What do you think, Rosa?” Nagisa questioned.

“Well…It’s worth a shot” she decided. They did need a fourth swimmer, and, frankly, they were running out of option here. Besides, Ryugazaki did seem like he could fit in the team, if he practiced track he was definitely athletic and that alone was enough reason “But how are we gonna make him quit the track team and join our swimming team?”

“Leave it to me!” replied Nagisa with excitement.

“Looks like he’s about to jump” observed Mako, and all eyes stood on him as he prepared to do just that.

His jump was amazing.

“He looks like a great diver” commented Rosalya, folding her arms with interest on this guy “He could work”

“And the form of his biceps is beautiful, too!” exclaimed Gou, shining once more, making Mako look at her in disbelief.

“Is that all you see?” he questioned.

“Leave her be, Mako” replied the other girl, looking at the olive-haired boy “She’s a lost cause at this point” she turned to look back at Rei, who was mumbling something to himself “Now we just need to figure out a way to convince him to join our team”

“Let me talk to him!” Nagisa exclaimed “I’ll convince him”

He didn’t.

* * *

 

**I know this last chapters have been all Rosa and the guys, but don’t worry, Rin will appear soon!**

**Also, thanks to every single one of you who have been reading this story. It truly means a lot!**


	8. Joint Practice

“I got some amazing news for the team today!” announced Gou the next day, as they all hung out at the pool. Even though they couldn’t swim yet, they still liked to meet there and have fun “Ready for this? I was able to schedule a joint practice with the Samezuka swimming team!”

“For real?!” questioned Nagisa excited, turning to look at his friends happily.

“I wonder how Rin feels about that“ commented Rosalya, folding her arms. She had a feeling he probably wasn’t going to be too thrilled, especially considering his attitude towards her friends and herself, but on the bright side she would finally be able to see him swim again after so long.

“It’s not that shocking he didn’t wanna listen to his little sister, so I went over his head and talked to the team captain directly!” she replied cheerfully.

“You’re an amazing manager, Gou!” exclaimed Nagisa, and the girl didn’t even bother to correct him because she knew that it was not going to work.

“Now that we got the green light to go ahead and use Samezuka’s indoor pool, we don’t have to wait ‘till summer to start swimming!” exclaimed Mako happily, before turning to look at Haru sitting beside him with a smile.

“There’s a still a catch” Gou replied.

Of course there was. Nothing could ever be perfect.

“Since it’s officially a joint practice, you have to show up with, at least, four swimmers or they won’t let us use the pool” everyone exchanged glances upon hearing the upsetting news, because they hadn’t found another member who wanted to join. And they had tried everything.

“So, basically, we gotta find and recruit a team member before we got to practice later during the day” stated Nagisa “We gotta make this happen! Gou did some serious flirting for this opportunity!” said girl gasped upon hearing his words.

“I wasn’t flirting!” defended the girl, and an argument about whether that was true or not followed.

In the meanwhile, Rosalya was immersed in her thoughts.

She was happy about the guys being able to use an indoor pool and swim again after so long, and she would do her best to help them. But thinking about Samezuka, also made her think about Rin. It was clear that something had happened to him, and maybe it had do to do with losing to Haru on the race all those years ago, but the facts didn’t add up. Rin wasn’t that weak, he wouldn’t throw away everything he had worked so hard for just because he lost against someone.

“Rosa?” Mako’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. The girl hadn’t talked for a while now.

“Huh?” she questioned, meeting the boy’s concerned eyes.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah” Rosa put on a fake smile and a cheerful tone “I’m fine!”

* * *

 

“Why are you panting?” questioned Rosalya the next day, while she, Mako and Haru stood at the school entrance in front of a very tired Nagisa trying to catch his breath.

“Did you miss the train or something?” added Haru.

“Hey, Haru; hey, Mako; hey, Rosa” greeted Nagisa casually, still trying to recover himself, when Ryugazaki approached them “Oh, hey, Rei” Rosa raised an eyebrow upon hearing that, pretty sure Nagisa and Ryugazaki weren’t on a first name basis.

“I assume you’re his little buddy Haru?” he questioned bluntly, staring directly at the boy.

“No, you shouldn’t, because I’m not anyone’s little buddy” replied the black haired with the same tone.

“Uh…Ryugazaki, is it?” questioned Rosa, wanting to ease the atmosphere. Even after all these years, it was still a bit weird to call people by their last names, but she tried to shrug it off, reminding herself that it wasn’t unusual in Japan “Can we help you with something?”

“If you’re still interested, I’m willing to participate in your joint practice as a trial member” replied Ryugazaki, much to everyone’s surprise, and delight, since he didn’t seem interested at all before.

“Really?!” questioned Nagisa, his eyes shining with excitement.

“But only on one condition” he replied, making everyone look at him curiously “I won’t do any swimming”

And that’s how they all ended at Samezuka Academy for the joint practice.

While everyone was busy admiring the indoor pool and Gou the muscles, Rosa scanned the place in search of Rin.

“Is something troubling you?” Mako observed, noticing the girl’s unusual behaviour all day.

“I’m worried about Rin” she admitted “But it’s okay, I won’t let it affect me today” he smiled at her.

“Thanks for being here today, Rosa” he said, and she could tell how sincere he was being.

“You don’t have to thank me, you’re my friends” she replied with a smile.

“Well, look who’s here” Rosa heard a voice behind her and turned around to find Nathan there, already in his swimsuit.

“You seem familiar, have I seen you around before?” the girl teased.

“Maybe” he replied, playing along, before they both bursted into chuckles “It’s good to see you”

“You too”

“Do you know each other?” Makoto questioned curiously, and Rosa suddenly realized he was still there.

“Yeah” she replied “This is Nathan Lance, we met yesterday, he’s my best friend’s twin brother” she explained, and the olive haired boy nodded in understanding “Nate, this is Makoto Tachibana”

“Nice to meet you, Tachibana” he replied, acknowledging him with a nod and a grin.

“Makoto is fine” replied the other boy with a smile “So you’re a swimmer too?”

“Yeah, I’m on a scholarship” he replied, and Rosa nodded, faintly remembering Joy telling her about it once.

“Hey, I just realized, I never asked what you swam” the girl commented, looking at Nathan curiously.

“I swim all strokes, but my specialty is backstroke”

“Hey, Makoto does too!” she replied, looking at said boy “Right?”

“Yeah” he said with a shy smile.

“Cool!” Nathan stated “Guess that means we’ll probably swim against each other”

“Hey” they all turned to look at the voice who had spoken, and they saw the captain of the Samezuka team smiling at them “Thanks for coming out, guys”

The six of them bowed and said their thanks.

“I guess I’ll catch you later” Nathan spoke up “Good luck” he wished, before going off to warm up.

After the captain spoke to Haru about his medals, he turned to look at Rosalya.

“And you’re Tawaraya Rosalya right?” he asked, surprising the girl a bit.

“Yeah, that’s me”

“You are also known around here. Are you going to swim, too?” Rosalya was about to answer, until she saw a very familiar face staring at her from behind the boy.

Rin.

They stared at each other for some minutes, until Rosa finally turned to look back at the captain to answer his question. She reminded herself why she was there, she was there for the guys, to support them. With those thoughts in mind, she pushed Rin away from her head.

“Unfortunately, no” replied the girl with a polite smile “I’m done swimming. I’m just the coach” Rin didn’t show it, but he had heard her words. And to say he was surprised about them was an understatement.

“That’s a shame” admitted the captain “Some of us were really looking forward to swimming with you” Rosalya smiled apologetically.

“I’m sorry to disappoint”

“No harm done” he shrugged it off, before Gou spotted Rin, who was still trying to process what he had just found out about Rosalya.

“Hey there, Rin!” greeted the girl happily, approaching her brother.

“Gou, what do you think you’re doing, bringing these guys here?” questioned Rin with a blunt tone.

“Nice to see you as well, Mr. Sunshine” Rosalya said sarcastically, but good heartedly, though Rin’s expression didn’t falter.

“Hey, Rin!” Nagisa greeted his former friend, too “After all this time, we’re finally getting the chance to swim together again!”

“Swim together?” repeated Rin, and his tone showed that he clearly didn’t care “This is a complete waste of time” he started to walk away, and Rosalya frowned as she watched after him, thinking of other ways she could get a reaction out of him.

“What’s up with him?” questioned a very clueless Rei to Mako and Rosa, since they were closer to him.

“I have no idea” she replied remorsefully, and the olive-haired looked at her sympathetically.

* * *

 

Gou and Rosalya were standing at one side of the pool, and Rosa was timing the guys to see how long it took them to swim the length, to see how much improvement they needed. As of now, quite a bit; they needed to be faster.

Gou then spotted Rin staring at the practice from the balcony, and she nudged Rosa. She turned to look at her curiously, and the girl gestured to her brother above them.

“He really couldn’t keep himself away for long, could he?” she questioned, shaking her head with a smile as she stared at Nagisa swimming “No matter how much he wanted to, it was just too much for him”

“Sure seems like it” replied Gou, and both girls chuckled silently.

“How was that, Rosa?” questioned Nagisa cheerful as always as he stared at the girls from inside the pool, once he was done.

“Good!” replied said girl with a nod and a smile “You can still improve, but it’s quite good for someone who hasn’t been swimming for some years” he smiled upon hearing that.

“Looks like Rei’s next” he commented, as he spotted the trial member ready to jump to the pool. He looked kinda nervous, but Rosa didn’t give much thought to it and solely focused on his swimming; she had an idea on how the other ones swum, because they had been teammates and she had trained them before; their styles hadn’t changed much. But Rei was an unexplored case.

She wasn’t sure he had swum before; based on his performance, she would write a training regime and choose which style he could pull off best. She sure was expecting a lot of him, since his form was perfect when they saw him at track practice.

Once the captain gave the signal, the swimmers dived in, and it wasn’t at all what Rosalya had imagined Rei’s swimming would be like.

The jump was terrible in the first place, he sunk like a pile of bricks, and he wasn’t coming back up.

And Rosa was terrified; images of an ocean storm and dangerous waves appeared in her mind. A figure getting carried away by the waves, unable to get back as he screamed for his life flashed in front of her.

She was not going to let it happen again.

Without a second thought, she took off her shoes and jumped to the water fully clothed to save Rei.

She dived in and helped him up to the surface, and Nagisa, who was still in the water, swum towards them for extra support.

“Are you alright?” Rei didn’t answer as he got out of the pool.

Rosalya was very aware that everyone was watching her, but the only thing she could think of was how lucky she was that she wasn’t wearing a white t-shirt.

In the meanwhile, Rin was still staring at the scene from the balcony, and his eyes went over and over again to Rosalya, even though he tried to look somewhere else.

He didn’t understand why she quitted swimming. She used to love it so much, she even dreamt of becoming an Olympic swimmer, just like him. When she was swimming with the guys and coaching them back in junior school, she was so happy. And when they talked through skype calls, she was always telling him of the great time she was having at the swimming school. Rin even felt a bit jealous of her good times, because he wasn’t having any.

He couldn’t believe it. He didn’t know what happened to make her give up swimming just like that, but he was determined to find out and talk some sense into her. She couldn’t just leave swimming forever.

Some minutes later, everyone was surrounding Rei as he sat on one corner with a towel around him, looking down in shame. The captain had also given Rosa a towel, because she had jumped in with her clothes still on, and she had gotten a cold.

“Rei, we didn’t know you couldn’t swim” said Nagisa softly.

“Well, I can’t” replied Rei, and he sounded very frustrated “It’s not my fault! I did try to tell you that I wasn’t gonna swim today!”

“You said you didn’t wanna swim, but you never said you didn’t know how” replied Nagisa logically, as he tried to sympathize with his situation.

“It would have meant admitting defeat” replied Rei, avoiding everyone’s gaze; instead, he was staring at the ground “I’m not adept to that! There’s nothing beautiful about being inferior” his knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists.

“Hey” Rosalya spoke up in a soft, almost motherly tone as she knelt down in front of the boy to give him some encouraging and comforting words “It’s okay, Rei. We all started like you at some point. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s not the end of the world” he didn’t answer.

“I’m sorry I made you go through the trouble of rescuing me, Tawaraya” he chose to said instead, and she smiled at him brightly.

“No problem. And call me Rosa” she replied with a smile “I’ll go to the Samezuka team and see if I can clear all this up” she added, walking towards the captain who was talking with Nathan.

“Is Rei okay?” Nate immediately questioned upon seeing the girl there.

“I’m sure he will be” she replied with a small nod, giving Rei a glance over his shoulder, who was talking with the boys amiably, before turning to look at the captain “I’m sorry we caused you so much trouble” she bowed apologetically “We might have rushed into this without being well prepared”

“What the hell happened out there?” he questioned, folding his arms in disapproval.

“We needed to find another swimmer before now” she began explaining “And Rei was the only one we could find. He told us he would come but not swim, and we still pushed him to do it, so it’s entirely on us. Again, I’m sorry, it won’t happen again”

“He seems to have some potential” Seijuro stated, as Rosa looked at him curiously “With enough training, you might have a good team in your hands” the girl smiled. She knew that, but it was nice to hear it from someone else.

“Thank you” she replied, and he nodded in acknowledgement before turning to look at his team.

“Okay, the break is over, everyone get back to work!” he ordered, and the swimmers took their positions, including Haru.

“You know, for what’s worth” Nathan spoke up besides her “The fact that Rei even agreed to be here despite not knowing how to swim is admirable”

“Yeah” she nodded with a smile “Nagisa’s persistence was good in that regard, despite how annoying it might have been” she added with a chuckle, making Nathan smile as well “Pretty good swimming, by the way. Those strokes were great”

“I’ve been in this school for two years, if they weren’t good I’d be pissed off” he stated.

“Well, they were” Rosalya assured, before turning to look at Haru, who was getting ready to dive in.

And his form was beautiful, as always. His time was quite good, too; he was as fit as when he swum in junior school, not having a pool to swim in hadn’t affected him at all.

Rosa was sure that Rei thought that it was beautiful, too, because he stood up the moment Haru started to swim, his eyes shining.

Rosalya smiled upon seeing Haru; she loved the way he swum. It was very inspiring.

And Rei looked very inspired, too.

Guess who decided to join the swimming team not long after that?


	9. Fish Out Of Water

“First training, then uniform” Rosa stated a couple of weeks after the joint practice, snatching the sports magazine from Nagisa’s hand and leaving it on a table nearby, ignoring his disappointed gaze. He had brought it in hopes of being able to discuss what their uniform for the tournament would be, since they obviously needed one to differentiate from the rest of the schools “This is your new training regime” she added, holding a piece of paper in her hands and shaking it in front of their faces “The weather is getting warmer, which means you can officially hit the pool and not get a cold because of it” she added the last part looking sharply at Haru, while the rest just chuckled.

“Did you made this, Rosa?” Nagisa questioned, taking the paper from her hands and looking at it.

“Yeah, it’s my old training regime from my time in England” she replied with a nod “I modified it taking into account that Rei can’t swim”

“It’s very complete” the orange haired observed.

“Only the best for my team” she replied proudly.

“Rei!” Gou called, taking out a small notepad and pen from her bag.

“Yes, what is it?” he said calmly.

“Given the short amount of time we have before the tournament, if we want a chance at victory, you need to master swimming within one week” she said firmly, and Rosa nodded to back her up.

“One week?” Rei asked, and immediately bursted into laughter, but the girls were as serious as ever “That’s conceptually impossible!” he added with another chuckle.

“With that attitude of course it is!” Rosa stated sharply “You’re not getting into any tournaments like this, so stop lazing around and get to swimming!” she added, almost in a yell, which scared many of the people around “This regime has to be completed today!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Rei said militarily, before going off to the lockers to put on his swimsuit (Or rather, the one Nagisa lend him)

After two days of hopeless effort to teach Rei how to swim backstroke and breaststroke, the members of Iwatobi Swim Club were gathered at Rosa’s house on a rainy day.

“Hear, hear!” Nagisa announced in an antique manner “The first ever let’s-find-out-why-Rei-sucks-at-swimming meeting is called to order! Any ideas?”

“The water doesn’t like him” Haru suggested, as Rosa placed five cups of tea on the table.

“He’s very unfortunate” added Nagisa.

“That can’t be the real reason” Makoto sighed, and Rosa had to agree.

“Maybe he’s just not athletic” offered Gou.

“He was in the track team, that’s not it” the black haired girl said, taking a seat at the head of the table.

“He has earned several gold medals!” Nagisa backed her up.

“So you have a lot of brain power” Mako tried to make Rei feel better.

“Do you like Mackerel?”

“What even is this conversation?” Rosa questioned tiredly, as everyone kept offering reason why Rei couldn’t swim, none of them making sense. And he had enough of it as well.

“Nothing of what you are saying has anything to do with it!” he exclaimed, slamming his hands on the table furiously “The problem is clearly with my instructors. If I had a proper coach, I would have caught up with all of you by now!”

“You have Rosa” Nagisa commented, and he then seemed to realize something “Hey, maybe that’s it! Rosa, you have to teach Rei how to swim!” he added, looking at said girl, who opened her eyes wide.

“I…” she began, but Rei cut her off.

“You can swim?” he questioned, not having heard of that before. Ever since he began training, never once had he seen Rosa get into the pool.

“I can, but I don’t anymore” she replied, shaking her head remorsefully. Rei was curious as to why, but it seemed a bit of a sensitive topic so he didn’t pry any further “I’m sorry” she added, casting her gaze down to her cup.

She couldn’t, she just couldn’t. What she had done when Rei fell into the pool was in the spur of a moment, she wasn’t thinking, all she wanted was to save him. But it was different saving someone than swimming with someone, she wasn't ready to do it. Not now. Not yet. Her brother’s passing was still very present in her mind and heart.

“It’s alright, Rosa” she felt Mako’s kind voice, and his hand on her shoulder “You’re doing more than enough” he added, bringing a smile to Rosa’s face as she looked up at him “Maybe we could ask Coach Sasabe?” he added, gazing at the rest of their friends.

“Hey, that might work!” Nagisa agreed.

* * *

 

“The answer was here all along!” Rei exclaimed the next day at practice. The previous night they had invited Coach Sasabe over to Rosa’s to ask him if he could train Rei, but he brought a box of pizza as a consolation gift, since his schedule was way too packed for it.

So now, here they were, and Rei apparently knew what was wrong with him.

“I know the reason I can’t swim!”

“For real?”

“So you’ve really figured it out?”

“Well, don’t leave us on suspense. Please, do say!” Rosa exclaimed dramatically, doing even more exaggerated hand motions.

“All these days of brainstorming, and it was right under our noses!” he went on “The answer is the speedo!” he added, gesturing to his bright yellow swimsuit “That’s the problem, I can’t believe it took so long for me to realize it!”

“Isn’t that the swimsuit I let you borrow?” Nagisa questioned, as they all approached their friend “Aren’t you being too harsh?”

“I’m not!” he insisted “Given the differences in our builts, the obvious answer is that this treacherous piece of cloth is not apt for my body!”

“So all we should do is go shopping” Rosa commented, folding her arms as Rei laughed triumphantly “Easy enough”

“Hey, is there a reason why Miss A didn’t tag along with us? We could really use her expertise” Makoto commented the next day, as the five of them were on a train to the mall.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot that she used to work for a swimsuit designer in Tokyo” Gou replied, and Rosa held back her chuckle. Miss A was so embarrassed of her past as a swimsuit model. After seeing the woman for the first time, she sounded familiar, and when she looked her up in the internet, it turned out that she used to be a model. Rosa didn’t mention it to her because she didn’t look quite pleased about it now, and she also didn’t tell the guys because Miss A obviously didn’t want anyone to find out.

“I asked her if she wanted to come, but she gave me a bunch of excuses” Nagisa replied, leaning against the seat.

“At least she was kind enough to give us excuses” Rei added, as they arrived to the mall and got off the train. The mall was huge, it had several stories and it was packed despite it being early afternoon. There were a couple of shopping centres in Brighton, but she didn’t go much to them by herself, she went mostly with Joy to amuse her.

“There’s just so much variety to choose from!” Gou commented, as she scanned the rack. Rei was saying a bunch of things only he understood as they walked around the area.

Rosa decided that maybe now was a good time to talk to Gou about Rin, seeing how immersed the boys were in their shopping. They would be there for a few hours.

“Hey, Gou, can I ask you something?” she spoke up, sitting on a bench nearby in front of some changing rooms as Rei and Haru got in to try on swimsuits.

“Yeah, sure” replied the girl, taking a seat next to her “What is it?”

“When Rin came back for holidays…” she spoke up, making the girl look at her curiously “What did he do?” she added. Maybe she knew what Rin had been up to, living in the same house and all. Maybe he mentioned if he was going to some place in particular, or if he was going to see the guys.

“I honestly have no idea” replied Gou, shaking her head. Rin was out of the house for a long time, but he never mentioned where he was going or what he did when he came back.

She frowned, trying to think of something, anything that could help Rosa to figure out what was going on with Rin, even if it was a little thing that didn’t seem too important. She was sure her friend would appreciate it anyway.

“Hey, Mako, let’s go try some as well!” Nagisa urged his friend, pushing him away from the spot where eh had been standing, and towards the several rows of swimsuits. Rosa followed them with a small smile as Gou sat quietly.

And then, it came to her.

“Well, there was this one time that he came home late” she said, and Rosa turned to look at her expectantly “And…He seemed upset over something” she added “He didn’t come out from his room all day, and he was in a bad mood” Rosa arched her eyebrows upon hearing that. It definitely meant something “I have no idea why he was like that and when I asked, he didn’t tell me” she didn’t usually talk to Rin so much, but she couldn’t help but ask if something was wrong, and he just snapped at her without giving her a proper answer. He obviously didn’t want to talk about it, so Gou didn’t insist, but she had always been curious “Does that help?” she asked, and Rosa smiled.

“It does” she nodded in assurance. Now she knew that something definitely happened, because the way the girl described how Rin was acting sounded like him everytime he was upset. Rosa had seen that many times “Thanks, Gou”

“Sure” she replied with a sweet smile, as they both turned to look at the guys once more. Gou’s face immediately lit up as the their friend came out one by one from the changing rooms, trying on different speedos. Rosa couldn’t help chuckling.

The problem was, that it went on for forty five minutes at least, and Gou quickly got bored.

“I’m going to get a drink” she decided after Rei tried on a butterfly patterned swimsuit; she had enough.

“Good idea, it doesn’t seem like we’re leaving anytime soon” Rosa smiled, though she was actually having a lot of fun watching the guys try on the outrageous speedos. It was laugh after laugh after laugh. She had really missed that.

That also reminded her of the first time Luke got a swimsuit. She had accompanied him to the mall, and she payed for a flowered-pattern speedo. It was her gift to him, so when he swam he would remember her. It was the swimsuit he was wearing...That day. She felt her heart clenching at the image of her little brother, but she did her best to shake it off.

“Aren’t you coming?” the young girl’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

“I’ll stay here, someone has to give the boys advice on style” she chuckled “And since Miss A is not here, I’m second best” her friend nodded with a smile.

“I’ll bring you one as well” Gou announced, before going off.

And as soon as she was gone, her mind immediately drifted off to Rin. She couldn’t help it. The same images replayed over and over again, Coach Sasabe’s words about Rin and Haru’s competition, Rin’s letter, Gou’s words, Rin’s attitude...The majority of her thoughts were occupied by her best friend, because he was still her best friend even if she wasn’t his anymore.

She didn’t know when, but suddenly there was only one of the dressing rooms being used. Scanning the area, she saw the guys were some metres away, and Nagisa was trying to get Rei to buy another speedo. She chuckled slightly, as the curtain of the dressing room was slid open.

When she turned to look at it, she found the very own boy she had been thinking about standing right in front of her.

“Rosa…” Rin breathed out, not expecting to see her there.

“Hey, Rin” she greeted, cheerful as ever “Are you also here on a shopping spree?” she added, taking notice of the black speedo he was wearing.

“Kind of…” he replied, and out of the corner of his eye he spotted the other four guys far away. She was alone, it was the perfect opportunity “Hey, got a minute?” he asked “I need to talk to you”

Rosa’s face lit up upon hearing that. Finally, he was the one to take initiative.

“Me too” she replied, standing up “I’ve been sitting here for an hour, and it doesn’t seem like we’re leaving anytime soon, so I have all the time in the world”


	10. The First Of Many

_“Aww, it’s not bloomed yet” twelve year old Rin Matsuoka complained sadly, as the five of them stood underneath the cherry blossom tree in their elementary school._

_“Sorry, I tried to tell you, guys, it probably wouldn’t be” Makoto replied apologetically._

_“This was my last chance to see it before I have to leave…” Rin added, reminding everyone there that he would be leaving the next day, and Rosa a week after him “I was hoping it would’ve flowered by today”_

_“I have tons of pictures if you wanna see” Rosalya suggested “I know it’s not the same as the real thing, but at least it’s something”_

_“Thanks, Rosa” Rin said with a smile, making her smile as well._

_“Rin” Haru spoke up, making the maroon haired chuckle upon realizing how cheesy he had sounded “Are you really gonna try to follow your dad’s dream?”_

_“I’m not really sure what I’m gonna do” he replied, turning to look at the tree once again, as his head filled with thoughts of his new life in Australia._

_“Hey, look!” Nagisa called their attention, crouching down “Everyone’s written stuff on the bricks!”_

_“Yeah, we bought this garden especially for graduation” Makoto replied, imitating his pose “Everyone picked a favourite phrase and wrote in on the bricks! This one’s mine” he motioned to a brick with the phrase ‘I swim’ written in white chalk._

_“This one has to be Haru’s” Nagisa stated, gesturing to a brick that red ‘Free’ in blue chalk._

_“Doesn’t surprise me” Rosalya replied good-heartedly._

_“Here’s the one I wrote” Rin indicated, his brick read ‘For the team’ “It’s what I’m all about” her friend said simply “Thanks to you four”_

_“Aww, aren’t you a softy” Rosa teased, jumping on his back._

_“Shut up” he replied with a smile, managing to hold her in time, as Nagisa and Mako chuckled slightly upon seeing that heartwarming scene “I bet yours is not any better”_

_“You can see it for yourself” she replied “It’s the only one written in green in this side of the bricks”_

_“Promise” Nagisa read out loud._

_“I’m a firm believer that promises are a serious vow” she began explaining, still on Rin’s back “One that is not done to just anyone, and they can’t be broken under any circumstances”_

_“And you said I was cheesy” it was Rin’s time to mock her now, and it made everyone laugh._

* * *

 

“Why did you come back?” asked Rosalya softly, looking up at Rin, who had been staring to the right, at the parking lot, until then. When he heard the girl’s words, he turned to look at her with a frown.

“What are you talking about?” he questioned, his tone still cold, which, even after a few weeks, still took Rosa by surprise.

“In the last letter you sent me…” she started calmly “You said that you were coming back to Iwatobi for holidays. And that’s the last thing I heard from you” she added, as Rin kept looking at her, which made Rosalya a bit nervous, but she managed to keep talking with a firm tone “Something happened, which made you come back” she wasn’t asking, she was certain “What happened?” Rin did his best to remain emotionless towards the girl’s statement, but he was actually surprised that she had figured it out so quickly.

But should he? I mean, this was Rosa they were talking about here…She was very observant, and, sometimes, he even thought that Rosalya knew him better than he knew himself. It was amazing the number of times she could tell that something was wrong with him or that something was bothering him.

Not that he cared, anyway. Rosa was a thing from the past, just as his teammates.

Or, at least, that’s what he wanted to believe. Deep down, very deep down, he knew that with the girl, things were different. They had always been.

“Nothing happened” he replied coldly, looking away to avoid her gaze, but Rosa could read him like an open book.

“I don’t believe that” she replied, crossing her arms and shaking her head in disagreement “Something made you this way” she said bluntly, not bothering to be subtle “You weren’t like this before”

“This is me” he stated firmly, looking back at her “I was always like this” she shook her head once more.

“The Rin I know would never act like this” she replied, standing her ground. Rin was a cheerful and lively guy, who cared about his teammates as much as they cared about him. He wanted to swim a relay with his best friends at all cost, maybe making him seem a bit annoying sometimes, but that’s because his convictions were strong.

Rin wasn’t what he was pretending to be now. He wasn’t a cold, emotionless guy that didn’t care about anyone but himself. Far from it, actually. Rin always cared about his friends, and he cared even more about Rosa, and both of them knew that. She wasn’t buying this mask he was putting on.

“Then maybe you don’t know me at all” he stated coldly, and Rosa ignored the pain in her chest when she heard that. That was not true. Rosa was convinced that she knew the real Rin, and she was willing to do everything and anything to bring him back.

Silence reigned for a few minutes, until Rin picked up the conversation.

“What happened to you?” he asked this time, leaning against the wire fence, and making Rosa give him a curious glance as to what he was talking about “Why did you quit swimming? You loved it” Rosa felt touched because of Rin’s question, even if he was just doing it for some competition or improvement thing. At least he was talking with her, granted, it was not the best topic, but it was a conversation.

“Luke died last year” she replied softly, and Rin opened his eyes wide upon hearing that. He didn’t know that “We were on holidays in LA, there was a storm and he...Well, he drowned”

“I’m…Really sorry, Rosa” he said in the same tone “God, I’m so sorry” he knew how close her brother and her were. He had seen him a couple times when he went over to Rosa’s house as children, and he seemed like a very nice boy. He couldn’t even begin to understand what the girl was feeling.

“It’s fine” replied the girl, smiling slightly and wiping a tear off her eye “I’m just...Trying to cope with it, I guess”

“Is that why you came back?” asked Rin, focusing back on the floor.

“Amongst other things” replied the girl with a nod “I wasn’t expecting to see you here, so that was a plus” she added with a smile, but Rin didn’t flinch “Look, it doesn’t matter if you didn’t miss me or if you don’t care about me anymore, but…You need to know that seeing you again after five years made me really happy” she added with a smile “I gotta go, but I’ll see you around” she turned around and started to walk away, before Rin called out to her.

“Rosa” he said, his gaze never leaving the floor. The girl turned to look at him curiously “I did”

God, he had missed her. She had no idea how much he had missed her.

Rosa smiled brightly because of that, before going back to her friends, a bit happier than before. When she turned around the corner, she spotted Gou suspiciously leaning against the wall.

“Gou?” she questioned, and the girl bounced startled as she looked at her “What were you doing there?”

“N-nothing!” she replied hurriedly, shaking her head, but the black haired didn’t believe that. She folded her arms and looked at the girl quizzically.

“Were you by any chance listening in on our conversation?” she asked sharply, and the girl hung her head in shame. Bull’s eye.

“I-I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have, but...I saw you guys going out and it just happened” she replied remorsefully, and Rosa shook her head with a small smile.

“If it’s you, I’ll let it slide” Gou’s face brightened up upon hearing that.

“Thank you!” she said excited, she didn’t want Rosa to be mad at her “And I knew you would get my brother to talk to you!” she added, making her smile slightly upon hearing that. Rin’s ‘I did’ replaying over and over in her head.

“Oh, there you are!” they heard Mako’s voice, and they saw him and the other three at the door “Is everything okay?”

“Perfect!” replied Rosa, as the both of them approached them “Are you done shopping?”

“I will be able to swim, now that I found a swimsuit fitting for my body” Rei replied proudly, making Rosa chuckle.

“Let’s go then”

* * *

 

“You know, from over here, he looks like a world-class swimmer” Makoto observed the next day at practice, as all of them sat by the pool staring at Rei with his new equipment.

“We’ll see if the clothes make the man!” Nagisa exclaimed, as Rosa observed carefully Rei’s position on the platform. It was good so far, but she had to see how he did the jump.

And he made a perfect angle. The only problem was, he still sunk like a anchor.

“Why?!” Rei yelled as he rose back to the surface, much to everyone’s disappointment. Rosa was starting to seriously doubt if he would be able to compete, the tournament was in only a couple of days and he still didn’t even know how to kick. All the guys had done their best to teach him their strokes, but he couldn’t learn them well.

Well, everyone but…

In that moment, she heard a splash in the pool, and when he looked at it, she saw Haru was swimming towards Rei. After talking for a bit, Haru obviously said he could only teach him free. Typical Haru.

“Haru teaching someone how to swim?” Makoto breathed out surprised.

“With Haru on the job, Rei can’t fail!” Nagisa exclaimed hopeful, and Rosa nodded in agreement.

“If there’s someone who can get Rei to swim, it’s him” she added, sitting besides Makoto by the pool, and observing intently what was about to happen.

It was late afternoon when the lessons finally finished.

“You have everything you need to pull this off” Haru indicated, as the sunset dyed the water orange, and reflected in everyone's faces “It’s up to you how you use it. Just believe in yourself”

“Right!” Rei exclaimed firmly, before lowering his goggles and placing his feet against the wall to gain impulse.

Rosa’s clenched at the fabric of her hoodie as he got ready to swim. This was it, if he couldn’t swim with Haru’s teaching then it was all over. Goodbye tournament. The other three were nervous as well, they were thinking the same as their coach.

Rei kicked the wall, and swam forward.

But alas, he was still the same.

“What is wrong with me?!” he roared, standing up. What was there left to do now? There was no one else that could teach him how to swim.

“A genius is made of 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration” Miss Amakata said from the chair. Everyone turned to look at her curiously, it was the first time in several days that they heard one of her famous sayings.

“That’s Addison, isn’t it?” Makoto questioned, and Rosa was not surprised that he knew that. He had always been one of the most intelligent people she knew.

“So basically works always trumps natural talent?” Gou wondered.

“Looks like we’re in for 48 hours of hardcore training” said Nagisa tiredly, as Makoto beside him sighed. Rosa looked at them sympathetically, but in agreement. They needed to train more, but she didn’t know what to do about Rei.

“Not exactly” Miss A replied “I interpret it as all the hard work in the world means nothing without inspiration”

“That is not very inspirational!” replied the young Matsuoka exasperated.

“What should we do then?” Mako questioned “There’s no one else we can go to now to train Rei”

“Well...There’s someone” Nagisa spoke up, and everyone turned to look at him curiously, including a frustrated Rei in the pool “Rosa” he added, glancing at the girl who opened her eyes wide.

“She said that she can’t, you shouldn’t push her” Mako replied, which the girl appreciated.

“But she was and still is the best swimmer amongst all of us!” the boy kept insisting, approaching the girl “Please, Rosalya. You’re our last hope” the girl bit her lip, as she stared at all her friends and Miss A, who were looking right back at her.

“I-I need a minute” she announced, before walking away from the pool. Almost escaping as she reached the street. She was breathing heavily as she scanned the area, to find no one thankfully. She didn’t want people to see her like that, she was probably a mess.

She knew that, even though no one had said anything, everyone was relying on her, even Haru. She had taught a few kids back in England to swim, but that was over a year ago and she hadn’t touched the water to swim for so long…And then there was still Luke. She had tried to get back into swimming a couple times, but she never could. The image of her little brother always blocked her mind, he was crying at her ‘why did you leave me?’ ‘this is your fault’ ‘you couldn’t save me’, and suddenly her limbs would not move. She was frozen in spot, paralyzed by the guilt. It was drowning her, swallowing her, until there would be nothing left of her to save.

“Rosalya?” a voice pulled her out of her dark thoughts, and she looked up to find Nathan staring at her with concern “Are you okay? You seem a bit off”

“I-I’m fine” she replied, trying to sound firm but failing at it.

“I might know you for a couple days, but even I can tell that’s a lie” he replied, and Rosa just sighed. She was never a good liar anyway, Joy always pointed that out.

“I’m at a crossroads” she finally admitted, and the boy nodded in understanding.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he offered.

“If you’re willing to hear” she replied; she didn’t entirely know why she was going to talk to a guy she barely knew about her struggles when it took her an awful lot to even mention Luke to her friends, but here she was. Perhaps it was because Nathan seemed trustworthy, or precisely because he barely knew her.

“Of course” he nodded, and Rosa smiled as they sat on a nearby bench “What’s going on?”

“Remember Rei?” she questioned, and Nate nodded, his mind going back to when they boy sunk in the pool “The tournament is soon, and he still can’t swim” she admitted, as the boy listened quietly “We’ve tried everything. He even bought a new swimsuit, and the guys have tried to teach him their strokes, but it hasn’t worked” she took a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing speaking “Now, they want me to teach him, since there’s no one else left, but...I don’t think I’m ready to get back into the water” she added, aware that Nathan knew she was taking a break, since he had found out like everyone else at practice.

Silence reigned for a few minutes as Rosa finished telling her problem. The sun was setting low in the distance, and a soft breeze was blowing.

“I have a question” Nathan finally spoke up, making the girl turn to look at him curiously “Do you want to get back to swimming?”

“I...” she began “I don’t know, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it, but...”

“That’s all I needed” he replied, shaking his head, earning him another curious glance “I personally have never seen you swim, but I’ve heard from Joy that you’re one of the best swimmers she has ever seen” Joy and him often called one another, and back when Rosa had very recently moved to England, his sister was always telling him about what an amazing person her roommate was, and about her beautiful swimming. She was very fast and talented, she had only very recently joined the team but she already set a record. And she was only twelve. Joy couldn’t even begin to imagine what she would be like when she grew up. Talent like that could only be seen once every few years.

Rosalya smiled slightly upon hearing that, the image of her best friend flashing through her mind. She missed her a lot.

“And I’m sure she’s not the only one who thinks it” he added “If you took up swimming again, I think you would make a bunch of people very happy” he had seen the way Rosa and the Iwatobi team interacted, and it was very clear that she was a very important person to them, and vice versa. They seemed like very good friends “But I also think that you should take all the time you need to figure it out, and hey, if you’re not sure whether you want to get back into it or not, all you have to do is test the waters” Rosa chuckled slightly upon hearing his awful pun, the fact that it was so terrible was what made it funny “Teaching someone what you know might be a good start. You don’t even have to swim if you don’t want to, just give Rei some guidance”

Rosa stayed quiet, pondering his words. What Nate said made a lot of sense, if she wanted to see whether swimming was her thing or not, she would need to let go of the fear and just do it, step by step. It had been a year, which was more than enough time. And hey, if she didn’t like it, there would always be other alternatives. It wasn’t the end of the world.

With a smile, she decided that she was ready to take a leap of faith.

“You’re right, I will do that” she finally said, nodding at Nate who smiled back “Thank you so much!” she added, pulling him into a hug. He was surprised at first, but eagerly hugged back.

Rosa then realized what she was doing, and quickly pulled back.

“I’m sorry” she said with a small chuckle “I couldn’t help it” Nate chuckled back.

“It’s fine” he said, shaking his head. And Rosa then realized something.

“So what were you doing here anyway?” she questioned curiously.

“I was on my way back to Samezuka actually” he replied “I was just eating something with a friend of mine in that cafe across the train station. It’s pretty good”

“Oh, yeah, I’ve been there a couple times” she replied with nod “Alright then!” she stood up “I’m going back in, wish me good luck!”

“You don’t need that” Nate replied, shrugging it off, making her smile once more before going back inside.

When she reached the pool, the guys immediately approached her, but before any of them could say anything she spoke up.

“Two things” she stated, raising two fingers up, and looking directly at Rei “The first one, if you want to master swimming, stop trying to act all sure of yourself, and let us help you” she said sternly, as the boys looked very confused as to why she was saying that. What was she trying to get at? “The second one, the only stroke you haven’t tried is butterfly. And lucky for you, that is my specialty” Nagisa and Mako exchanged eager and sly smiles “Now, just to warn you, we only have so much time left before the tournament, so I’m going to have to throw sympathy out the window, and you will have to do exactly as I say. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Good, now get back into the pool”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two important things to take out from this chapter! (I feel like a teacher) Rosa’s convictions about promises which will be of a lot of importance throughout the story, and her teaching Rei how to swim, which is important for her own development.
> 
> Also, chapter titles are important. Pay attention to them closely!


	11. The Promise

_“Is that all?” fifteen year old Rosalya questioned, meeting Rin’s gaze on the other side of the world through her screen._

_“Yeah” he replied, and he looked very tired. His eyes were swollen, and Rosa noticed he tried to repress a yawn, failing at it. She couldn’t blame him, despite being barely 19:00 PM in Australia, they had been reviewing for the history test the entire week, always at the same time. Rosa had been waking up at 8:30 AM for the past four days, which was Rin’s 17:00 PM, to help him study. Despite him living in Australia for three years now, he still couldn’t handle english perfectly well. He wanted to have Rosa assisting him, it gave him safety, despite the girl having told him many times that he had come further in two years, than other people in five. Rin only agreed with that because she had been teaching him, he was sure he wouldn’t have been able to progress so much by himself “I still don’t understand what’s the point in learning all this stuff, it’s not like I will strike a conversation with someone and be like ‘Hey, so about the Gold Rush?’” Rosa couldn’t stop the chuckle that escaped her lips. Despite probably being drained Rin still kept his sense of humour._

_“I don’t think it’s so much about using it, rather than knowing it” she replied logically “I won’t ever use Trigonometry in my life, but I have to know what it is”_

_“Yeah, but that’s useful for swimming at least” he commented “How can I apply what a bunch of people found out in the 1850s to my training?” Rosa giggled once more._

_“How is training going by the way?” she questioned curiously, leaning forward. They had been so busy reviewing, that she forgot to ask the most important thing._

_“Uh…” he shifted uncomfortably in his seat “Good”_

_“You don’t sound convinced” she replied, giving him a sharp glance._

_“I said good, okay?” he said a bit ruder than intended, taking the girl by surprise, but as he clearly didn’t seem to want to talk about it, she didn’t push the topic further._

_“Okay, Mr. Moodswings” she replied, raising her hands in redemption “Let’s talk about something else then” Rin felt a sting of guilt, and sighed._

_“Sorry” he said softly, avoiding her gaze “I’m just tired, that’s all”_

_“I know” she replied in understanding “Do you want to end the call? So you can rest, you’ll need it for tomorrow”_

_“No, it’s fine” he replied bluntly. He wanted to keep talking to her._

_But contrary to his desire, silence reigned for a few minutes, and all that Rosa could hear was the sound of Joy laughing in the lounge with some other classmates. That was usually the time they all got together and had breakfast, the black haired had been eating in her room recently “Hey, Rosa?” he questioned after some minutes, and the girl looked at him curiously “I…” he grunted “No, forget it”_

_“Now don’t leave me hanging like that!” Rosa exclaimed. Curiosity was already sparking in her at to what Rin could possibly say “C’mon, tell me” he stayed silent for a few minutes, before gulping nervously._

_“I...Just wanted to say, thank you” he finally admitted “For...Everything. Helping me...Supporting me...You-you probably have a lot of things to take care of yourself, but you still find time for...” Rosa looked at him in adoration upon hearing that. It was the first time she heard her friend saying something like that, and to say that she was touched by his words would be an understatement “I...If it weren’t for you, I don’t know...What all of this would be like”_

_“Rin, you don’t have to thank me” she replied, wanting to reach through the screen and pull him into a hug “You’re my best friend, I will always be there for you, no matter what” she smiled._

_“I promise”_

* * *

 

“So you actually got into the water?!” Joy questioned, not being able to contain her excitement as she talked to Rosa over the phone.

“Don’t sound so excited” the black haired replied, as she walked around the lounge at the pool, occasionally taking a glance at the guys training. Her eyes specially focused on Rei, who had been improving a lot lately. Rosa taught him butterfly, it was up to him to perfect it now. He had the basics figured out, but still needed to work on speed. She told him to train that, since he was on the track team before it was probably what he could thoroughly develop “I only taught him the moves, I didn’t even swim”

“It’s still something” the girl replied “Let me have my fifteen minutes of happiness in peace” Rosa chuckled.

“You mean fifteen minutes of fame?”

“Don’t change the subject!” she scolded, making her chuckle even louder.

“Okay, okay, sorry”

“The point is, you getting in the water is already a big step” Joy insisted, it was the first of many steps she would need to take if she wanted to get back into swimming one day “What made you change your mind?”

“A certain brown haired twin brother of yours” she replied, and she could almost see Joy’s eyes opening wide.

“That’s probably the first useful thing he’s done in years” Joy said good-heartedly, making the other girl giggle.

“I somehow doubt that” she replied, and then her gaze spotted what seemed like a magazine hiding underneath the rug.

“Have you seen him swim? Has he changed his style?” the swimmer kept questioning, as Rosa walked towards the end of the room where the magazine was.

“Nope, still swimming backstroke” replied the girl, grabbing the magazine. Nathan was actually quite good at it as well, from what she had heard he had one of the best scores in the entire Samezuka swimming team. Considering how long he had been swimming for (Since he was four according to Joy), she couldn’t expect any less from him.

Upon turning the magazine in her hands and seeing the cover, she opened her eyes wide.

“Hey, Joy? I’ll call you later, okay?” she announced, walking towards the pool.

“Sure thing, girl, good luck!”

“Thanks” she hung up “Hey, guys? I found something interesting”

“What is it?” Nagisa questioned, as the four guys and Gou approached her.

“Iwatobi High School Swim Club: Summer Training Camp From Hell On a Deserted Island” Makoto read out loud.

“That doesn’t sound too good…” the young Matsuoka trailed off.

“From hell?” Rei questioned, sweating a little bit.

“Deserted island?” Haru repeated curiously.

“That sounds fun!” exclaimed Nagisa, his eyes shining. And Rosa held back a chuckle, that was each of her friends’ personality, one phrase per person. They couldn’t be more different. And that’s what made them such a close group, their distinct but complementary characteristics.

“Don’t be fooled by the title” assured the girl “I’m sure it’s not as bad as it sounds”

“Where did you find it?” Gou questioned.

“It was back there” replied the girl “It seems to be from several years back. We should try something like this, it would be great training before the tournament”

“Sounds like a lot of work to me” Haru replied, sitting by the pool with his feet on the water. At what moment he had gone there, nobody knew.

“You know me, Haru, you shouldn’t be so surprised” Rosa replied “The training regime is pretty good, it’s basically swimming from one island to another” she added, flipping the pages until it landed on a map showing four different islands, forming a circle. Arrows were connecting the four of them “It’s harsh, but I don’t doubt it would pay off”

“This is exactly what we need!” the manager exclaimed excited.

“You think?” Mako asked, and he sounded gloomy all of a sudden. Rosa noticed, but didn’t comment on it.

“Yeah, definitely!” Gou replied “If we follow this example, there’s no way the Iwatobi Swim Club won’t win”

“How did it turn out for those guys?” Nagisa questioned.

“Unfortunately, not good” Rosa replied remorsefully “Sixth place, but I know you guys will be able to get a higher spot. Call it a gut feeling”

“Regardless of outcome, we need to remain strong!” the young Matsuoka kept insisting “And what better time and place to do a whole a training camp than on summer in a deserted island?”

“Why exactly does it have to be in a deserted island?” Rei wondered.

“Who knows? But it sounds exotic!” Nagisa replied “Personally, I’m all for it!”

“It sounds like a decent idea to me” admitted Makoto.

* * *

 

 

“Woah, that’s some serious equipment” Gou observed impressed later that day at Rosalya’s house. They had asked Miss A if the funding could be provided to do the training camp, to which she replied that they didn't have the budget for it. So now they were trying to figure out a way to be able to do the camp without the school's assistance. Makoto said he could provide equipment, so that was a start. 

“My family always goes camping in the summer, so we have really good stuff” Makoto replied, as they looked over the several utensils, bottles and other things on the floor of the girl’s house.

“Thankfully nobody really uses this basement” Rosalya stated as she looked around the empty place. It wouldn’t bother anyone if it was down there “It’s quite dirty though” she added, her face scrunching up before coughing some dust off her lungs “Let’s go upstairs”

“Do you live alone?” Rei questioned, never having gone to her house before.

“With my aunt” she replied as the walked up “But she’s working most of the time”

“What about your parents?” he asked once again, and Rosa smiled slightly when she saw Toby playing with his ball outside through the window. He was as playful as ever despite being so old.

“In England” 

“Rosa was in this super important swimming school there for five years!” Nagisa exclaimed, and Rei raised an eyebrow upon hearing that. She attended a swimming school? “She was the best”

“C’mon now” the girl spoke up with a sheepish grin “That’s too much”

“But it’s true!” he kept insisting, and all she could do was chuckle.

“Whatever you say, Nagi” she replied as they got into the living room “Would you guys like some tea?”

“You really like it, huh” Makoto observed.

“I was in England for five years, of course I do” she replied good-heartedly, earning a small giggle from her olive haired friend.

“Do you have Gyokuro?” Rei questioned, fixing his glasses.

“As a matter of fact, yes” she replied with a small smile.

“Woah, Rei has high standards!” Nagisa teased.

“What’s wrong with wanting to taste excellency every once in a while?” he asked, and Rosa chuckled.

“Absolutely nothing” she replied, shaking her head “Normal tea for the rest of you?”

“That’d be nice” Makoto stated, and she nodded before going off to the kitchen.

“You have quite a few pictures” Gou observed as they waited for her to come back, scanning the photographs hanging from the walls and some framed ones in shelves nearby.

“And that’s just only here” Rosa replied from the door to the kitchen with a smile “You haven’t seen my room”

“Oh, I haven’t seen that picture in ages” Makoto commented, and when Rosa followed his gaze, she saw the photograph they had taken when she left for England, the one with all five of them hugging while crying.

“I have a copy of it back in Brighton as well” she commented as the water boiled, and she went back into the kitchen.

* * *

 

“Are you sure you have everything?” Rosa’s aunt questioned the next day. It was one of the very few time she was home when she woke up, so she had insisted on cooking breakfast for her. She wanted to spend as much time with her niece as possible, but work was taking a lot of her time unfortunately.

“Yeah, I’m all set” replied the girl, giving her an assuring smile. Her aunt’s face then faltered.

“Will you be fine?” she questioned, and Rosa knew she was talking about the ocean, and all the bad memories she had of it. She would be by the ocean for a long time.

“I won’t get into it” she replied, ignoring the images already flashing through her mind. She didn’t want to worry her aunt, more than she already was “I will just watch over the guys as they swim”

Contrary to expected, she was actually excited about the trip with her friends. She made it her goal to have as much fun as possible, without letting depressing thoughts cloud her mind. It would give them a lot time to catch up, and bond with them. Especially with Rei, since she didn’t know that much about him. Just that he was obsessed with the beautiful and formulas. It would be a very interesting experience.

“I should get going” she spoke up, taking a look at the clock hanging from the wall.

“Yes, of course” her aunt replied, and pulled the girl into a tight hug “Have fun, okay?”

“I will” she replied, hugging back before leaving for the port. Thankfully, all the stuff Makoto had brought was divided amongst all of them, so Rosa didn’t have to take everything by herself. She didn’t have enough strength or backpacks for that.

Mako and Haru arrived at the same time as her.

“Are we all present and accounted for?” Coach Sasabe questioned, looking around.

“Miss Amakata is missing” Nagisa commented, and soon enough a pink car pulled up next to the boat. From the inside, Miss A came out dressed as if she were about to get aboard a cruise ship.

“Sorry to keep you all waiting” she said with a smile “But I’m here now! You must be Coach Sasabe, I’ve heard so many wonderful things about you!” she added, approaching the man and handing him a package wrapped in a violet paper “Thank you very much for the help, we couldn’t have done it without you!”

“That’s really sweet of you” he replied, taking the present into his hands before frowning as he looked at her.

“Is something wrong?”

“Have I met you before? I can’t place it, but you look really familiar” Rosa repressed a laugh upon seeing Miss A’s horrified face. She found some sort of amusement in being the only one who knew about Miss A’s modeling career.

“Sorry, we have never met before. I’m afraid you must be confusing me with someone else” she replied nervously, avoiding his gaze.

“Is it just me or is he totally hitting on her?” Gou questioned, and Rosa this time did chuckle.

After some seconds of loading up their stuff, they were finally on their way to the island. Rosa scanned the boat, her friends all seemed very excited; well, al except for Rei who looked green.

“Are you okay?” she asked worriedly, approaching the guy who was holding a handkerchief to his mouth.

“Just fine” he replied, not wanting to worry the girl, but she knew better.

“Not a fan of the sea?” she questioned sympathetically.

“Not particularly…” he replied.

“That’s alright” she stated “I’m sure it won’t take very long to get there, but just in case, you can sit next to me” she added, as she walked towards some stairs far away from the sea “The less you stare at the water, the better” she was talking out of concern and personal experience as well.

“Thank you” he replied quietly, following the girl and taking a place next to her. Silence reigned for some seconds between them, until he spoke upon again “Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Sure” she replied, shifting her gaze from Nagisa talking about deserted islands to the black haired.

“You can swim, and from what I’ve been told you excel at it, used to participate in tournaments all the time when you were young and even attended a prestigious swimming school abroad to perfect your abilities, you’ve put so much effort into your training and yet...You don’t swim anymore. Why?” Rosa stayed quiet some seconds, gathering her thoughts. She knew Rei would eventually ask that question, because everyone did at some point. And she always answered it, the difficult part was figuring out what to say without bursting into tears.

“I had a brother” she began explaining, as Rei listened quietly “His name was Luke, he was five years younger than me, and I cared a lot about him” she smiled slightly upon remembering that day.

“Did you say ‘had’’?” Rei questioned in surprise.

“That’s the sad part” the girl replied, her eyes shimmering “He passed away a year ago, and...I guess I kind of lost the passion I had for swimming” she added, not specifying why exactly. Rei stayed quiet for some seconds, before speaking up again.

“And you still chose to teach me butterfly?” he questioned in surprised, and she smiled with a sniff.

“It wasn’t an easy choice, I’ll give you that” she replied “But...You’re my friend, Rei” she added with honesty, turning to look at him “And if you need my help, I will be there for you. For all of you” she added, turning to look at the rest who were busy enjoying themselves to notice the two of them sat aside.

“Thank you” that was the only thing Rei could bring himself to say after hearing her words, and what she did for the people she cared about. She was truly a great friend.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you remember the flashback from the previous chapter, then you know Rosa was not playing any games when she promised she’d always be there for Rin. That will be crucial in this story.


	12. The Training Camp

Rosa tried to stop it, but she couldn’t. The moment she placed foot on that island, memories of a couple years ago came flooding back. A beach. A storm. A body. She could feel the water in her lungs, as she fought to stay afloat.

“Hey, guys?” Rei’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts, as she turned around to look at the boy who had come back from the bathroom after a very…. revolting sail. She spotted Makoto staring at her for a split second, before looking back at their friend “You might want to see this” the girl frowned, and she and the rest followed him, wondering where he was headed.

Some minutes later, they arrived to a window, and down below their rival swimming team was training in the indoor pool.

“Why is the Samezuka swimming team here?” Makoto wondered, speaking up for everybody.

“Look, Rin’s here too!” Nagisa announced, motioning towards the familiar maroon haired. Upon seeing him, the conversation Rosa and he had flashed through her mind. She hadn’t told anyone about it, not even Joy. It was something she wanted to keep to herself. It was a sign, small but a sign anyway, that the Rin she knew was still there somewhere. He was buried deep down in his cold demeanor, but it was present. She wasn’t going to lose hope, she would bring him back no matter the cost.

“What’s the deal, Gou? Is this part of your plan or something?” Makoto questioned, looking at the girl. Rosa looked at her curiously, it wouldn’t surprise her if she had let Samezuka know. She had done it before.

“This is a total surprise to me, I swear!” she replied, raising her hands in defense.

“Are you sure about that?” Nagisa asked accusatory.

“I mean, it pretty much goes without saying that my brother won’t listen to a word I say”

“So you’re saying all this is just a big coincidence?!” the orange haired cried excited “We should go say hello then! C’mon, guys!” but Rosa wasn’t sure Rin would be too happy about seeing them there.

“Don’t” Haru said sternly, earning him more than a few frowns.

“Why not?”

“I made him a promise” Rosa once again was transported to her memories upon hearing that word. She still remembered that day crystal clear “We’re going head to head at district” she raised an eyebrow upon hearing that.

“When did that happen?” she questioned curiously, she doubted Haru had called Rin and be like ‘Hey, so about the tournament…’, but Haru didn’t answer. And she wasn’t going to pry if he didn’t want to say anything, there were an awful lot of things she hadn't told the guys either.

* * *

 

“I’d be so happy to swim in a fifty meter pool” Nagisa sighed as they set up the tents at the campsite, by the ocean.

“Clearly Samezuka is at a different level from us” Rei added.

“That doesn’t matter” Haru replied sternly.

“He’s right” Rosa agreed with a nod “We came here to swim, and work your stamina, not to relax at a spa”

“They may have a fancy pool, but we have a deserted island!” Nagisa replied, making the girl chuckle.

“Exactly”

“Are you seriously saying a deserted island is better than a fifty meter pool?” Rei demanded, his fists clenched as Makoto chuckled slightly.

“They’re not that different, Rei” Nagisa commented innocently, just to taunt him.

“They’re night and day!”

“C’mon, Gou” Miss Amakata spoke up, smiling at the girl “If we don’t hurry up, we’re going to miss our check in time at the lodge”

“Sounds good!” the youngest Matsuoka replied, while the boys gasped in disbelief.

“A lodge? What do you mean?” Rei demanded, as the four guys approached them.

“The way I see it, there’s a lodge sitting right there” Miss A replied, motioning to the set of buildings behind them “So why not?” the guys just opened their eyes wider, while Rosa kept setting up her tent nonchalantly “You don’t expect a couple of ladies like us to sleep outdoors, right Gou?”

“Yeah!”

“But what about Rosa? You’re staying, right?” Nagisa questioned, looking at the girl who smiled at them.

“Of course!” she replied, standing up once her tent was done “All for one, one for all” she added. Miss Amakata had offered her to come with them to the lodge, but she refused. She wanted to spend as much time with the boys as possible.

Once they were all set, the guys immediately slipped on their swimsuits and swimming gear, ready to begin training.

“Okay, listen up” Rosa spoke up as the guys approached her “If you look at the map, you will notice there are a number of smaller islands close by”

“Yeah, deserted island!” Nagisa exclaimed, and Rei once again argued with him. All Rosa did was shake her head in amusement, before picking up where she left off.

“There are three islands: Sukishima, Oshima, and Mizushima. You will be swimming through all three, the distance between them is approximately one kilometer. If you’re able to complete the entire circle, that’s four kilometers of swimming and one of running” she explained, showing them the map “You’re goal will be to complete three full circles on the first day”

“That sounds really hard though” Nagisa commented worriedly “Rei, are you sure you can handle that?”

“Your coach here has everything sorted out” Rosa replied in assurance “Rei will have a different regime than the rest of you”

“I appreciate that, but I prefer to stick with what the team is doing” Rei replied sharply “After all, I’ve read a great deal of books on the subject of longs distance swimming” he added, a slight red tinting his cheeks.

“Swimming in a pool and in the ocean are different things” the girl stated logically “If you truly want to follow the same regime, you do it with a kickboard or inflatables”

“Take your pick” Haru stated lugubriously, holding the objects in her hands. Rei looked horrified.

“This is decidedly unbeautiful!” he exclaimed outraged.

“You don’t really have a choice” Rosa said sternly. She knew she sounded harsh, but she was saying the truth “If your problem is the aesthetic, use a kickboard”

“Fine…” he replied reluctantly, but he knew the girl was right. He wasn’t able to swim like the rest yet.

“Okay, let’s go then” Rosa ordered “I’ll be here if you need anything”

“You’re not getting in?” Rei questioned, unaware of the girl’s problem with the sea. The guys exchanged glances, suddenly remembering he didn’t know the story. He just knew Rosa didn’t swim because of her brother.

“I’d rather stay here” she replied, not getting into details. Rei was still curious though.

“Well, let’s go!” Nagisa exclaimed, hurrying to the ocean and pulling everyone out from the uncomfortable atmosphere.

“Hey, wait for me, Nagisa! We’re supposed to start at the exact same time!” Rei exclaimed, following the boy, and holding the kickboard in his arm. Rosa smiled at them slightly, but it soon faded.

“Are you okay?” she heard Makoto asking softly besides her, making the girl turn to look at him “I know being here is very difficult for you” the girl casted her glance to the floor, bothered that she couldn’t hide her discomfort better, but quickly forced a smile.

“I’m okay” she replied, and before he could say anything she asked “Are you? You seemed a bit gloomy earlier” she added, and Makoto smiled kindly at her, not wanting to worry her.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m fine” he assured, and Rosa noticed Haru standing quietly in the sideline. He too was looking at Mako worried, and the girl was sure she was missing something, but didn’t insist.

“Go and catch up to them” she said, her coach voice coming back “Three rounds, today” Mako nodded, and hurried to Nagisa and Rei, Haru quickly following behind. Rosa stayed there, watching over them with a heavy heart.

* * *

 

Several hours later, it was sunset, the guys were back, and Miss A and Gou were preparing supper with the pizzas Coach Sasabe had given to them.

“I never thought long distance swimming would be this difficult” Rei spoke up, trying to catch his breath.

“For a first timer, you did really well Rei” Makoto complimented “I don’t think I could’ve done that”

“Yeah, from what I could see you were working really hard” Rosa agreed with a nod “Good job!” she added cheerfully, but she noticed he didn’t look as happy.

“It feels awesome to be working out like this!” Nagisa exclaimed “By the time this training camp is over, we’re gonna be in amazing shape! We’re going to win district, after that we’re taking first place at regionals and then we’re going all the way to nationals!”

“Let’s focus on district for now, yeah?” Rosa replied.

“Yeah, it all seems so impossible right now” Mako agreed “I’m really excited to see how far we can take this”

“If we place, we’ll get a bigger budget for next year!” Nagisa insisted, not being able to hide his excitement as he approached Haru, who was some distance away “How cool would it be to practice indoor during winter?”

“Sounds pretty awesome” Haru replied nonchalantly.

“We can swim whenever we want!” the orange haired added. Rosa giggled slightly, and then noticed out of the corner of her eye that Rei still seemed pretty upset.

“Hey, Rei?” she approached him, as the other guys went up to the tables where they would be eating “Don’t bring yourself down over this” she added, knowing he probably felt very inferior in comparison to the other guys, but there really was no comparison. The boys had been swimming for years, Rei for just a few months “You’ve only recently learned to swim, so it’s natural you’re not at their level yet” Rei kept his gaze down “Hey” she called softly, placing a hand on his shoulder and forcing him to look at her “When I plan other regimes for you, I’m not doing it because I think you’re inferior. I plan them with the thought of you improving over time” she explained, but he stayed quiet “If you keep up the hard work, you will soon be able to swim twelve kilometers without anyone’s help. I believe you will” she finished, before smiling at him “C’mon, let’s go eat something”

“Oh, no, this is bad, I forgot to bring seasonings!” Miss Amakata exclaimed when they arrived. The food was already set.

“Don’t worry, I can go borrow some stuff from the lodge!” Rosa replied.

“I’ll come with you” the other girl added, and they went off.

When they arrived to the entrance, Gou bumped into someone.

“I’m so sorry!” she quickly said, and when they both looked up, they met Nathan’s eyes.

“Oh, hey Nate!” Rosa greeted cheerfully, almost forgetting that Samezuka was there too.

“Hey, strangers, what brings you to this neck of the woods?” he said back, a bit surprised about seeing them there.

“We created our very own training camp by the beach” Rosalya explained.

“That’s a nice coincidence” he replied with a smile, and just then a familiar mat of maroon hair appeared in frame.

“What’s going on?” he questioned, and when she saw the two girls, his eyes shot open “Gou, Rosa” he said coldly, and Rosa could almost see his teeth gritting.

“Really, dude? That’s your reaction?” Nathan questioned sternly “I thought you’d be more happy to see your girl-”

“Hey, Nate, do you have a minute?” Rosa quickly cut him off, sensing what he was about to say.

“Uh...Sure” he replied, a bit confused about her sudden reaction. As they walked away, Rin watched them with a raised eyebrow and glowering eyes. Did they know each other? If so, for how long? Why didn’t he know about that before?

“You know, you and Rin are a weird couple” Nathan admitted with a frown as they sat on a bench nearby, Rosa completing forgetting about the seasonings she was supposed to get “If I saw my girlfriend here, the first thing I would say would be ‘Hey, I missed you!’, instead you got a glare and he...Was completely ignored”

“I wasn’t ignoring him” Rosa replied “And by the way, he is not my boyfriend. We’re just friends...Kinda”

“Kinda?”

“It’s a long story, I might save it for later” she replied, and he just nodded in understanding.

“But if he’s not your boyfriend, then why did Gou say he was?”

“She enjoys teasing me” replied the girl, which was white lie, since that wasn’t all there was to it “That, again, is part of that very long story”

“But you actually know each other”

“From junior school” she replied with a nod, and stayed quiet for some more seconds as an idea came to her. She obviously couldn’t know everything that was going on between the walls of the Samezuka academy and, therefore, most facts about how Rin spent his time and what he did remained a mystery, but maybe Nathan could solve that for her. They had a trust with each other. She wasn’t going to propose any spionage or anything like that, those were just movies, she would just ask Nate from time to time to give her an update on her best friend “What is he like there?” Rosa questioned “At school, I mean”

“He doesn’t really talk much with anyone” he replied, and she frowned. That was another thing that had changed, Rin used to be a very lively and friendly guy, able to get friends easily. He could quickly engage in conversation with anyone “Except Nitori” he added, and the girl knew who he was talking about. She had seen that boy at the joint practice, and he seemed to be quite attached to Rin “He is a great swimmer, though, and very hard working. But he pushes himself a lot”

“That sounds like Rin, alright” she replied with a small smile, before frowning “Hey, can I ask you a favour?” he looked at her curiously upon hearing that.

“Sure” he nodded “What is it?”

“If something happens to him, or her seems sort of...Out of it, could you let me know?”

“Is that also part of the long story you owe me?” Nathan questioned in amusement, making the girl chuckle.

“Yeah”

“In that case, I will” he assured “No problem”

“Thanks”

“Oh, hey, how did that lesson with Rei go?” he questioned, suddenly remembering their last encounter a couple days ago.

“Excellent!” she replied happily “He could finally learn a stroke, butterfly”

“That’s great”

“He still needs a lot of practice obviously, but he’s doing his best”

“And how did you feel about teaching him?”

“Honestly? Pretty good” she replied. She felt a sort of thrill while helping Rei learn her signature stroke, as if she herself was learning it again for the very first time. She raised her gaze to look at the sky, and it was then that she realized night had fallen; stars were shining brightly. She had lost track of time “Oh, I should get going. The guys are probably waiting for me to eat” she added, standing up.

“Sure thing” he replied with a nod “It was nice seeing you, Rosa”

“You too!”

That night, everyone was in their tents and Miss A and Gou at the lodge. Nagisa was sharing the tent with Haru, and Makoto with Rei. For obvious reasons, Rosalya was by herself, but she hadn’t been able to get one wink for the past two hours. Her mind kept going over and over through the day she had; Rin, Rei, Makoto, and even the training camp itself. It had been an intense day, full of several different emotions that she was still trying to process.

And she had to admit...Seeing the guys training like that and having fun, a part of her wished to be there with them, swimming, but...Something was holding her back. It was as if she was at the top of a rollercoaster, the thrill and adrenaline heightened, but the fact of not knowing what was down below terrifying her.

“REI!” a scream pulled her out of her thoughts, and she sat up abruptly. It sounded a lot like Makoto, but she couldn’t really make it over the sound of the wind howling. A storm was brewing.

“Mako?” she questioned, getting out of her tent, wrapping her arms around her body to block the cold that the storm had brought with it. Squinting, she tried to see beyond the sea and the drops of water falling on her face, one after another.

And then, she saw them. Rei was in the middle of the ocean, four meter waves were pounding as the storm only grew bigger, and Makoto was on his way to save him. Rosa covered her mouth in horror, her heart beating out of her chest, terrified for her friends’ lives. Would Mako be able to make it in time?

But suddenly, he stopped. Stopped moving, stopped swimming. What was he doing?

And then, a wave swallowed him.

“Makoto!” she yelled, and instinctively sprinted to the ocean, in a plain short and t-shirt. She began moving her arms and feet just as she had learned all those years ago, in the hopes of reaching her friends in time.

“Rosa!”

She heard a voice, but it wasn’t any of her friends’. It was the voice of a ten year old boy, crying for his life.

And suddenly, everything went black.


	13. Stranded

“Rosa, wake up” the girl heard a faint voice calling for her, and she felt her head pressing against something soft. She slowly began moving her fingers, wrists and feet “Please wake up” her eyes finally opened up softly, and she was met with the concerned face of Nagisa looking down at her “Rosa!” he cried, and wrapped the girl in a hug that made her wince in pain. Her body was drained, she hadn’t swam in over a year, especially not in the ocean. She was not used to it “Oh, sorry!” he quickly apologized upon feeling her tense limbs “Are you okay?”

“For the most part” she replied, sitting straight, with a pounding headache.

Then, she remembered.

“Rei!” she exclaimed, looking around, and when he saw the boy sitting some metres away from them she sighed in relief “Are you alright?”

“Yeah…” he replied, looking away, and the girl could tell something was bothering him.

“What about Makoto?”

“Haru got him” Nagisa replied “We got separated because of the storm” Rosa nodded upon hearing that “What happened to you?” the orange haired asked worriedly “You seemed out of it when I found you, and immediately after you passed out”

“I…” she began with a frown, pondering whether she should tell them or not. It would definitely make her sound insane, but...These two guys were very worried about her, the least she could do was to be honest “I heard Luke’s voice” she admitted, and Nagisa’s eyes opened wide.

“Your brother?” Rei questioned confused.

“Yeah, he…” she took a deep breath, before retelling that story again. Rei deserved to know, he probably didn’t understand many things about her behaviour that entire day “Remember this morning when I told you about his passing? Well, I didn’t say how exactly it happened” she made a pause, preparing herself “He drowned in the ocean...I tried saving him, but I was too late. It’s because of me that he’s not here now” she added with some tears in her eyes, the smiling face of her brother strolling through her mind.

“That’s not true, Rosa” Nagisa replied, shaking his head sympathetically “You couldn’t have known”

“But if I had realized sooner about the storm, or if I had been faster, I...Maybe I could have saved him”

“The fact that you even tried to save him in the middle of storm is pretty admirable” Rei commented, and she smiled slightly.

“He was my brother, what else was I supposed to do?” she questioned softly.

“I didn’t know you felt this way” Nagisa admitted, wanting nothing more than to comfort his friend “I’m sorry I pressured you into doing all this”

“Don’t go around feeling sorry for me now” Rosa replied, trying to regain her good mood “I’m already way into this to turn back” she didn’t want to either “Besides, I get to see you guys swim again. And I got to meet the future champion of male’s butterfly” she added, motioning to Rei still sitting some meters away from them, but he didn’t say anything “What more could a girl ask for?”

“Oh, hey” Nagisa spoke up, looking at the ocean, where Rei’s board had washed up “Found your board” he added, handing it to him.

“Thank you, I appreciate it” Rei replied tiredly.

“Are you going to be okay?” the orange-haired questioned, and Rosa felt she could finally stand straight and keep her balance, so she approached them. The headache was fading away.

“I’m not sure” he replied, making the girl look at him sympathetically “I’m sorry to have caused everyone so much trouble”

“It’s alright!” Nagisa replied cheerfully.

“No...I feel so stupid…”

“Hey, chin up, Rei” Rosa spoke up, kneeling in front of him “You couldn’t know this was going to happen”

“The most important thing is that you are alright” the orange-haired added.

“Exactly” the girl agreed “So let’s just forget this, and go look for Haru and Makoto. I don’t think they’re far”

“Yeah, let’s go!” Nagisa nodded determined, as Rosa stood up. She was suddenly aware that her shirt was soaked, and it was sticking to her body. Her face scrunched up uncomfortably, it would be hard to walk like that. At least the guys had their swimsuits on, but she was still fully clothed “Everything okay?” he questioned, noticing the girl’s expression.

“I need to take this off” she decided, motioning to her shirt.

“What?!” Rei questioned in disbelief, and Rosa was glad to see he seemed to be returning to his own self.

“I can’t move around like this” she replied logically “Relax, I’m wearing a sports bra” she added, before taking the shirt off. She felt comfortable enough around them to do that, she had known them all her life, it wasn’t that bad. They had seen her in a swimsuit before “Okay, now we can go”

After several minutes of walking around, the three of them finally found Haru and Mako. Mako particularly seemed very relieved to see them there.

“Hey, guys” he said softly, as Haru approached them “Glad you’re alright” his gaze then set on Rosa in her sports bra, and his eyes opened wide.

“Oh, c’mon” the girl said before he could let a word out “You’ve known me for six years, get over it” all Mako did upon hearing that was chuckle at his friend’s occurrences.

“Rei, I’m sorry I almost got the both of us killed” he said softly, looking at the guy, who opened his eyes wide upon hearing that.

“Are you crazy? I put you in danger, this mess was my fault from start to finish”

“Hey, enough of this ‘let’s drown in self pity’ party” Rosalya announced, clapping her hands to call their attention “It's all in the past now”

“You’re an idiot” Haru snapped, completely ignoring the girl’s words, making everyone look at him in surprise as he spoke to Rei “Swimming in the ocean? At night, all by yourself?” Rei lowered his gaze in shame upon hearing that, knowing Haru was right.

“Hey, what did I say?” Rosalya demanded, placing her hands on her hips in disapproval “C’est fini”

“He was practicing” Nagisa defended “Easy, Haru, you can’t blame him for wanting to catch up to his teammates, right?”

“I’d say he was actually very brave in doing that” Rosa stated firmly, placing a hand on Rei’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him “The storm was an unplanned occurrence, and we’re all at fault here, so let’s just find a place to spend the night and be done with it” Mako’s gaze then set on a lighthouse not so far from there, and everyone’s else did as well.

* * *

 

“A rest house, cool!” Nagisa exclaimed, as the five of them stared at a building quite damaged, and by the looks of it, it had been there for several years. Some windows were broken, and cracks could be seen on the walls “But what is it?”

“It’s a house where you go to rest” Rei replied logically, holding his board to his chest tightly.

“Let’s go inside” Haru indicated.

“So we’re actually gonna do this?” Rei questioned, his voice shaking.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Rosa asked, walking alongside Nagisa, leading the group to the house “Ghosts sightings?” Mako behind her tensed upon hearing those words.

“Please don’t scare me like that…” he said nervously, and Nagisa and Rosa exchanged amused glances while chuckling slightly.

“Makoto, are you okay?” Haru asked the boy.

“I’m fine”

“Seriously, guys?” the orange-haired questioned, looking back at them “If this were a horror movie, you’d be the newly wed couple that gets killed in the first five minutes”

“Well, you heard him. It was nice knowing you, guys” Rosa played along with Nagisa’s words, very entertained by the idea of Haru and Mako in wedding clothing “Be sure to remember us in the afterlife”

“A shadow just moved” Haruka said creepingly, making Nagisa scream like a girl. Rosa just chuckled once more, she wasn’t easily scared. She didn’t believe in the supernatural. Haru’s gaze then set on Mako, who seemed equally frightened “I’m sorry”

“N-No, it’s okay” he replied nervously.

“You guys stay here for a sec, Rosa and I will go take a look inside” Haru spoke up, seeing as him and the girl were the only ones not scared out of their minds.

“We should come with you, safety in numbers, right? We might as well be careful” Makoto replied.

“Yeah, we don’t want any mysterious disappearances going around” Rosa said, making her way to the house. Everyone but Haru shuddered and showed equal amounts of fear, making her chuckle. She was going to have a lot of fun that night.

Out of the corner of her eye, she managed to spot a ghost of a smile in Haru’s face before getting inside the building.

“It’s almost pitch black in here” Nagisa commented as they looked around.

“I feel like something’s gonna pop out at us…” Rei admitted, scanning the surroundings nervously.

“Hey, I found a flashlight!” Rosa announced, looking at the object hanging from the wall, before turning it on. Somehow, the house looked even creepier with just that tiny light illuminating their path.

“Looks like this used to be a kitchen” Haru observed, looking at the room. It was quite dirty, and no one seemed to have been there for, at least, the past five years.

“You think there’s still some food in here or something?” Nagisa wondered “I’m starving!”

“Does there exist a situation in which you are not starving?” Rei asked logically.

“Nope” Rosalya replied for the boy, who chuckled slightly.

“Alright, while the rest of us look around, Rei, why don’t you go open that gross-looking fridge?” the oranged haired spoke up.

“What?! Why do I take the job most likely to uncover a dead body?!”

“Your destiny is tied to your name” Nagisa stated, and Rosa had no idea what that meant. She doubted Nagi did either.

“No! You can’t make me do it, who knows what’s in there?”

“Fine, rock, paper, scissors” Nagisa complied reluctantly “The loser gets the fridge”

“Or the third option, we can leave the damn thing closed” Rei argued.

“It’s the most likely place to have food” the orange-haired said back.

“Maybe, yeah, but there’s no electricity” Makoto said logically.

“So?” Nagisa questioned “Modern appliances can keep things fresh for like hundreds of years! Now, one, two, three” they all got paper, except Rei, who got rock. Meaning, he would be the one to open the fridge in the end “And we have a winner! Go, Rei!” the orange haired encouraged, waving the kickboard around as if it was a pompom.

After several minutes of Rei slowly, very slowly approaching the fridge and opening, there was nothing inside.

“See? Nothing to worry about in the end” Rosa commented.

* * *

 

“Who’s it gonna be, who’s it gonna be…” Nagisa sang, tossing a dice he made out of some cardboard in the air. He had done that in order to keep everyone entertained, since according to him, they were in a deserted island and couldn’t just sleep like decent people because it would be boring “It’s Rei!” he exclaimed. It seemed like Nagisa had made up his mind to make Rei the center of attention that night.

“Does my name really have to be on two sides of that ridiculous thing?” Rei questioned sternly.

“Yeah, of course, silly, you’re Rei!” he replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, but Rosa still didn’t understand what that even meant. She wasn't going to ask anyway, because she knew Nagisa would not give her a straight answer “Since it’s your turn, you have to tell us an embarrassing story. Make it a good one” yep, Rei was definitely going to have a hard time that night.

“Why does it have to be embarrassing?”

“You’re staling!” Nagisa sang, making the poor boy sigh.

“Very well, I was in fifth grade, I can’t believe I’m telling you this, and on a field trip” then he proceeded to say that back in that trip, he couldn’t find his underwear in his bag. As he was searching for it, the coordinator of the field trip spoke through the megaphone and showed a bag with blue underwear, that someone had left in the locker room.

“Everyone saw your underwear?” Nagisa questioned, as Rei regretted his life choices while being red as a cherry.

“They did, yeah” he replied embarrassed.

“Well...It’s all in the past” Makoto said, trying to comfort him somehow.

“It happens” Nagisa added, placing a hand on his shoulder to show his support “Don’t worry, if you ever leave them behind again, Nagisa’s got your back”

“Don’t touch them!” Rei snapped.

Next up, was Haruka.

“Give us the detail on a romantic encounter” Nagisa indicated, apparently in charge of the game, since he was the only one who seemed to be telling people what to do if their names came up.

“Romantic encounter?” Mako, Rei and Rosa asked at the same time. Rosa didn’t associate Haru with romance, never had, never would. In her opinion, he was married to the water, and had been for several years now, living a very happy marriage.

“Whatever” Haru replied nonchalantly, standing up.

“Wait, you actually had one?” the girl questioned surprised.

“Does he even know what romantic means?” Rei asked softly.

“Your guess is as good as mine” replied Makoto.

“This happened in grade school” Haru began to speak, and all eyes stood on him expectantly “I was with my folks and we were hiking up a mountain. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, there she was, like nothing I had ever seen. Beyond perfect. Smooth, crystal clear”

“A waterfall then” Rosa came to a quick conclusion, upon hearing how he was describing it.

“That doesn’t count…” Nagisa pouted, making the girl chuckle. Like she thought, married to the water.

Then, Rosalya.

“Okay, Rosa!” Nagisa exclaimed, and the girl braced herself for what was about to come “Tell us a funny story of your time in England!”

“Sure” she replied, and began rummaging through the boxes in her head, searching for a memory that amused her “Oh, I got it!” she finally replied “So, back in Brighton, my school was a boarding school, and my roommate's name was Joy Lance, she is also my best friend. There was this one time when we were fourteen, in which I went to spend a couple days with her family in London for winter break. Her parents went out for dinner during their anniversary night, and we stayed alone” Joy’s parents had always been nice to Rosalya, they welcomed her into their house as if she was their own daughter, and whenever she came by, they were extremely delighted. Joy sometimes joked that they preferred Rosa over herself, since her mom always cooked her favourite food when the black haired stayed for dinner or lunch, which she almost never did for her own daughter “We were going to watch some christmas movies, eat pizza and drink something. Joy’s mom told us there was some cherry juice in a bottle in the pantry we could take, so we grabbed that bottle, it was a transparent glass bottle, you know, nothing weird or, at least, that’s what we thought” here came the funny part “So we began drinking, and it had more of a sour taste than cherry juice, but we didn’t pay much attention to it and just kept on watching the movie. So two hours later, we complete emptied the bottle, and we were just acting very weird. Constantly laughing at the most insignificant things, stumbling and tripping everywhere, slurring our words...It was four hours later that Joy’s parents found us when they came back, and turned out that what we had been drinking wasn’t juice, but wine”

“You were drunk?” Rei questioned, and Rosalya chuckled.

“Yeah, it was an accident” she replied, as she remembered all the crazy things she and her friend did that night, it was hilarious.

“But were you okay?” Makoto questioned worriedly, and she couldn’t say she was surprised. He was always like that.

“Oh, yeah, we just passed out because of how much we drank, and had to sit through half an hour of Mrs. Lance scolding us, but other than that it was fine” she replied, shrugging it off “We slept for like twelve hours straight afterwards”

“Did your parents ever find out?” Nagisa questioned curiously.

“Yeah, Joy’s mom couldn’t just leave them in the dark” she replied logically “But since she had already said everything we needed to hear, all my mom could say was to be careful the next time, but everyone understood we didn’t do it on purpose”

Another small giggle escaped her lips as she finished telling that story. She was glad that despite the unfortunate circumstances in which they were currently in, basically stranded in, now yes, a deserted island, they could make something fun out of it. The memories she made, was currently making and would make were her treasure. And she expected to be able to make many more in the years to come, with all the people she cared about.


	14. The Comeback

_“It’s a really nice day today” Eileen commented, casting her glance towards the bright blue sky, there were very few clouds in the air._

_“I hope it remains this way the entire month” Rosa added, burying her feet in the sand as the waves crashed on the shore._

_“That’s a fine piece of work you’re doing there” Akio observed with a smile, looking down at his ten year old son as he built a sandcastle close to them._

_“Thanks!” replied Luke, proud of himself “I need to get more water” he added, standing up and grabbing one of his buckets._

_“Rosalya Tawaraya reporting for duty” the girl stood up playfully, saluting Luke “Can I offer you my assistance, young man?” he chuckled at his sister’s occurrences._

_“You can” he replied going along with a nod, which the girl returned before grabbing another bucket, and they boy began making their way towards the sea. All their parents could do was chuckle upon seeing their interactions, they were glad their children got along so well. Not many families could say the same._

_As Rosa filled a bucket with water, she looked at Luke and couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face. Most other girls her age would have hurled if they found out they were going to have a little brother, but not her. At first, it was a bit weird and almost bothersome in a way, since she wasn’t receiving so much attention as before, but as she got older she grew to like spending time with him and having fun, she could only describer her brother as a small ray of sunshine, with his joy and energy he could cheer up the entire household. Rosa always missed him the most when she was at Laguna Creek, she missed him occasionally paying a visit to her in the bedroom to see what she was doing, or playing legos during rainy days and frisbees during sunny days._

_She wanted those moments between the two of them to last as long as possible._

_“Rosa, look!” her brother motioning to something shining underneath the humid sand pulled her from her thoughts._

_“What’s that?” she wondered, kneeling down as Luke put his bucket down and digged it up. It was a round object._

_“A coin?” questioned the young boy with a frown when he placed it in his hand._

_“Not just any coin” she replied, turning it around, there was no number, instead a picture of a wave with the word Hokusai above it._

_“The great wave” Luke read what was written next to what Rosa assumed was the name of the wave “I wanna keep it!” he exclaimed, making her chuckle._

_“Then it’s yours” she replied, placing it in his hand “Let’s get back to mom and dad, yeah? We have a castle to build”_

_“Okay” he replied, grabbing the bucket with his free hand, and holding the other coing tightly, not wanting it to slip from his grip._

_“Can I go to the sea?!” Luke exclaimed a while later after the castle was built._

_“Sure, sweetie” his mother replied, after taking a look at the sky. It had clouded in the past minutes, but it wasn’t too bad, there didn’t seem to be anything to worry about “But stay close, alright?” the young boy nodded._

_“Want me to hold on to that coin for you?” Rosa suggested._

_“Take care of it” Luke said, placing it in her extended palm._

_“I’ll guard it with my life” she said dramatically, making him smile before going off “He really loves the water” Rosa commented, watching in bliss as Luke jumped and splashed around at sea._

_“I wonder who he got it from” her father said, giving the girl a sly grin, and she just chuckled. She couldn’t deny that she had tried to pass on the love of water she had to her little brother. He had recently begin swimming lessons, and he was doing good so far. He obviously still wasn’t at Rosa’s level, but she knew he would get there eventually if he worked hard._

_There was peace and quiet for several minutes, each member of the family immersed in their own activities. But then, a sudden gust of wind blew and the newspaper her father had reading began shaking._

_“Oh my, that’s a strong wind” Eileen commented worriedly, staring at the sky as some black clouds began covering it._

_“Rosa, can you tell Luke to come back?” Akio questioned “I think there’s a storm coming”_

_“Yeah” she agreed, and stood up to fetch her brother, not before leaving the extraordinary coin in her bag._

_As she walked towards the sea, she spotted many people coming out in a hurry, and several monumental waves approaching in the distance. She couldn’t see Luke._

_“Luke!” she called for him, as loud as she could so the boy could hear her over the roaring wind “Where are you?!” she scanned her surroundings, but saw no one, so she made her way deeper. A thunder was heard, and raindrops began caressing her face “Come back!” she heard a whistle blowing, and the lifeguard yelling ‘Get out! Get out!’, but she wouldn’t. Not without Luke “Luke!” she yelled once more, still nothing. She saw two red flags out of the corner of her eye, but she got deeper, fighting against the current. The water was reaching her waist._

_“Help me!” she heard a desperate voice, and she recognized it as her brother’s “Help!”_

_“Luke!” yelled the girl, squinting to block the rain, and she finally saw a figure in the distance, growing smaller and smaller by the minute “I’m coming! Hold on!” she heard several people calling for her to go back, but she ignored it. After trying to run towards the boy, she knew it was useless so she submerged full in, and swam. She just swam. A wave broke some distance away, but she kept going._

_“Rosa!” her brother’s desperate voice called, as she spotted his sister swimming his way._

_“I’m almost there!” she yelled back, meeting his terrified gaze, but her eyes shot open when they saw what was behind him “Luke, watch out!” she yelled, and when the boy turned around, he was engulfed by a monstrous wave._

_He didn’t come back up._

_Rosa desperately submerged once more, looking for her brother in the deep dark sea. He wasn’t far, but he would get away soon. She rose back up, her eyes blurry as she gasped for air, before going back down. She held his body with one hand, and pushed herself up with her body and all the strength she could muster. The sea was violent, which made it hard to swim, and she was also dragging someone else with her, so by the time she reached the surface she was exhausted._

_“Luke?” she questioned softly, her voice hoarse as she moved some strands of hair off her brother’s tender face “Can you hear me?” she added, but no answer. Her breath got caught in her throat as she placed her ear against his chest “No….Luke! Wake up!” she cried, tears stinging her eyes “Please, don’t do this to me! Luke!”_

_But it was too late._

_A pearl-shaped tear fell on the lifeless body of Luke Tawaraya._

* * *

 

After Rosa’s turn, the game went on. Nagisa came up next, every one of them had been picked at least one time now, minus Makoto.

“I have to do an impression, and you guess what it is!” he exclaimed. That being said, he placed both hands at his side, pursed his lips and began doing some skips with his legs. Needless to say, no one had any idea of what was going on.

“What are you doing?” Haru questioned, voicing everyone’s thoughts.

“You don’t know?” Nagisa questioned downhearted, and everyone shook their heads “It’s a penguin! You didn’t even try!”

“I don’t get it” Haruka said once more.

“C’mon!” the boy kept insisting, and did the imitation once again “Look once more, you can totally tell the difference!” he increased his speed and made Mako chuckle softly, which earned another smile from Nagisa “Hey, you smiled! It’s good to see you loosen up, you’ve been a bit down all night” Mako upon hearing his words, smiled slightly.

“I’m sorry” he said, looking down “I didn’t mean to make you worry” Rosa looked at him sympathetically, she could tell something was bothering her, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

“Uh…” Rei spoke up shyly, earning him a few curious glances “Mind if I ask you a personal question?” Makoto just nodded to his request “When you tried to save me earlier, you….” he sighed “How do I put this….You were acting somewhat out of character”

“That’s not something we’re gonna discuss, Rei” Haru spoke up for his friend sternly, which was very unusual of him,

“But I…”

“Drop the subject!” he snapped, startling Rosa. She had never heard Haru so upset before, if she wasn’t sure before she was now, that there was something she didn’t know, possibly about Makoto. She was curious to know what it was, but if her friend didn’t want to speak about it she wasn’t going to push him.

“Haru, it’s alright” Makoto spoke up, breaking the tense atmosphere that had set “But thanks anyway. Truth is, one way or another that’s something they should know about me” Rosa looked at him curiously upon hearing that, ready to listen. Mako stayed quiet for some seconds, gathering her thoughts, before beginning to tell the story “When I swam out, I was absolutely terrified”

“Terrified?” repeated Rei.

“You mean, of Rei drowning?” Nagisa questioned, shifting on his spot to a more comfortable position.

“That too” the brown haired went on, as he reminiscenced about what had happened all those years ago “But mainly of the ocean” Rosa arched her eyebrows upon hearing that, it was the same as her “There use to be a fishing harbour, and when I was a kid I used to go there all the time. I met this old fisherman, sweetest guy in the world” the girl smiled slightly upon hearing that “He’d play with me when he could, and tell me stories. In Summer, they always had a big festival, right on the docks. There was a pool where they let you scoop out goldfish to take home, except I never had any money, so all I could do was watch them swim” everyone remained quiet, looking at Makoto with interest “One time though, the old fisherman gave me a pair of my own. I was so happy...But later, that same year, that same summer actually, there was a typhoon and the old man’s boat sunk. He died” Rei and Nagisa’s eyes opened wide, while Rosa just remained quiet, with a heavy heart. She could tell how the story went on, because of that terrible event, Mako was scared of the ocean or, at least, of storms at sea. She knew how that felt, of course she did. And it was awful “Along with some people he was taking out to fish, the boat was only three kilometers from the shore when it went down. Three kilometers, I swim that distance everyday” he said downhearted, it was nothing, with a bit more luck, they might have been able to pull ashore “I don’t remember being sad, but I was scared. I tried to take care of the goldfish...Fed them, cleaned their bowl...Eventually, they died too. Ever since then, the ocean’s terrified me. It’s like this big, terrible creature hiding in the water that can take you anytime”

“That’s enough” Haru spoke up, seeing how hard it was for his friend to tell that story.

“You’re terrified of the ocean, and you dove to save me anyway” Rei commented surprised, touched and grateful. He was sure it had taken Mako a whole deal of courage to do that.

Rosa had lost all the trail of the story at this point, she was immersed in her own thoughts.

“It’s not any of my business” Nagisa commented “But...If you’re so scared, why come to this camp in the first place?”

“I wanted to swim” Mako replied promptly, making Rosa raise her gaze from the floor and to him “With you, guys. It’s about the five of us being a team. When we swim together, train together...I can’t describe how it feels. It’s like there’s nothing we can do!” Rosa casted her gaze to the window, to find that it had stopped raining. Everyone was immediately on their feet, going towards the outside. Colourful stars flooded the entire clear sky, reflecting on the ponds of water the rain had left behind.

“Look at all the stars!” Nagisa exclaimed.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen it so clear” Rei added “I believe that’s the Summer Triangle overhead, that one’s Vega, Alterra from Aquila…”

“There’s the squid!” Nagisa pointed out.

“What about the Mackerel?” Haru asked, typical.

“Neither of those exist!” Mako said with a chuckle, while Rosa casted her gaze towards the ocean down below. It was quiet, peaceful, nothing like what it was two, maybe three hours ago. She was drawn to it, as if it was calling for her.

* * *

 

A couple minutes later, while her friends were asleep inside, Rosa was sitting by the edge of the water, her t-shirt on, since it had dried up already. She was still surprised by Makoto’s story; she could relate to it, but at the same time she couldn’t. She could understand the fear he had of the ocean, and how that fear could consume him, because the same thing had happened to her many times before. After Luke, she had tried to get into the ocean many times, but she saw the waves breaking and she was transported back to that day. She froze, her senses stopped responding, everything just...Stopped.

But the difference between Mako and her, was that Mako kept swimming, he never stopped. He didn’t let what happened so many years ago get in the way of his passion, and why? Because he wanted to swim with his best friends, his teammates at any cost, nothing else mattered to him, while she...She gave up altogether. It was weak, and never in a million years would she had imagined something like that happening back in elementary, when she began swimming, when she promised her little brother she would become an olympic swimmer. Where had all that gone? That cheerful, twelve year old swimmer girl who had introduced herself to four strangers who would give her life a 360°, where was she now? Because this wasn’t her, this seventeen year old girl who had resigned her passion to grieve was not Rosalya Tawaraya.

“What do you think, Luke?” she questioned out loud, looking at the ocean, where her brother’s soul was buried “You’re probably wondering what your seventeen year old sister thinks she’s doing with her life. And I...I honestly don’t know” she admitted with a sigh “I thought coming back here would be the right thing to do, and while I am very happy, I...Still feel like something’s missing. And deep inside me, I know what that is, but...I’m not sure” a small wave broke against the shore, as if answering to her “I said I wanted to find another reason to swim, and I think I did, but...What if it isn’t good enough? What if two years from now, the reasons I want to are not there anymore? I would have to do this all over again” when she sat there, she never thought she would end up talking to practically herself, it was silly, she knew that, but her heart had spoken before her lips.

And before she even knew it, she had made a choice.

* * *

 

“It’s not as far as we thought!” Nagisa exclaimed the next morning, as they stood by the shore Rosa had been at just some hours ago, staring at the island and the distance. The lodge could be seen, small.

“Perhaps if we wave, or make some noise Miss A and Gou will spot us?” suggested Rei, but he was doubtful.

“They’re probably still asleep” commented Makoto.

“Well, if they are, hopefully they’ll notice we’ve gone missing” Nagisa stated.

“I could just swim across and let them know we’re over here” Makoto offered, but everyone turned to look at him in surprise upon hearing that.

“Are you crazy?” Haru questioned.

“You can’t go alone!” Rei added.

“C’mon, things are calm it’s practically a mirror” Makoto replied softly.

“Or…” Rosa spoke “We could all just swim across” she said casually, making everyone open their eyes wide.

“But, Rosa, you…” Nagisa said, aware of the girl’s hiatus and feelings about the ocean. The girl just smiled.

“I wanted to wait until we were over there to tell you, but since there doesn’t seem to be any other way to actually get there, I’ll say it now” she replied, and all the guys looked at her curiously “Most of you know that I took a break from swimming ever since Luke died, but none of you know exactly why” she took a deep breath “After his passing….I just lost the passion I had for it, and...I couldn’t find a reason to keep on doing it” she explained, as everyone listened intently “That is part of the reason why I returned. Because I thought that coming back to this town where I first started swimming and where I met you, guys, would help me to figure out exactly what to swim for” none of them said anything, but they were all wondering the same thing.

Did she find a reason?

“It’s been a month since I began training you, and while it made me really happy since I had forgotten how much fun we had back in junior school, it was also hard. It was hard being just an expectator while you four had the time of your lives” the guys looked at her sympathetically upon hearing her words, but it seemed she still had a lot to say “I loved swimming with you, and...I still do. And I want to do it again, now more than ever” their faces lit up, but before they could say anything she kept on going “And if I get to see Rin more because of it, then I’m down. He’s acting this way towards us now, but I’m sure you know he’s not like this, there’s a reason why he’s behaving this way and I want to find out. This might be a step in the right direction”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” asked Nagisa, eyes shining with hope.

“Yes” replied Rosa with a smile bright as the sun “I’m back”

“Yes! Thank you, Rosa!” exclaimed Nagisa, immediately bouncing towards the girl excitedly, and making her chuckle “Oh, this is going to be amazing!”

As the guys chuckled happily at the news, Rosa’s face faltered slightly, as she reached for the small object buried in the pocket of her shorts.

“I’m doing this for you” she mumbled, looking towards the ocean in front of her “I hope you’re watching”

In the meanwhile, back on the other side, a certain maroon haired boy was jogging by the coast, when he spotted the three tents set on the sand. Then, he heard laughter, and when he casted his gaze to the ocean, he spotted Makoto, Rei, Haru and Nagisa swimming at a pleasant rhythm.

“What are they doing?” he questioned, to no one in particular. And his gaze then set on the fifth person with them “Rosa?!” he asked loudly, and in fact the girl was swimming butterfly, as if she hadn’t quitted swimming for a year, as if nothing. Finally.

He suppressed a grin, before continuing his way, until he tripped over one of the sides of a tent.

Looking down, he saw that a bag had fallen over, all the stuff inside of it sliding down. Not knowing whose things they were, he squatted down and began putting everything inside once again. He grabbed a green cellphone that had fallen off as well, and accidentally pressed one of the buttons, making the screen turn on. Trying not to give much thought to it, he went to put it inside the bag, until he saw the wallpaper.

And he couldn’t believe his eyes.


	15. The Tournament

_“C’mon, dad! The race’s about to start!” exclaimed a six year old boy, Luke Tawaraya, looking at his father, who was preparing popcorn in the kitchen._

_The Tawaraya family was sitting in front of the TV, ready to watch the Olympics. The family overall really enjoyed sports, and always knew the latest matches and tournaments, and they never missed the Olympics._

_“Coming!” replied the man, and sat besides his wife as he left the popcorn in the middle of the table, where everyone could reach it._

_“Swimming is up” observed the mother, and all eyes stood on the screen as the female swimmers prepared to jump into the water. Rosalya paid special attention to it, because swimming was the sport that interested her the most._

_When the race started, Luke’s eyes lit up, and his gaze immediately went over to Rosa, who had been hanging around the pool of Iwatobi quite frequently; part of it was because she loved swimming, and the other half was because she had made a bunch of friends there, and she always talked about them._

_When Rosa felt her brother’s eyes on her, she looked at him sitting at her side and smiled._

_“You’ll swim like that one day, won’t you Rosa?” questioned the boy with excitement._

_“I don’t know” replied the ten-year old girl “Would you want me to?”_

_“Yes!” replied the boy, bouncing up and down “You’d look so cool, and you’ll swim so fast! Maybe one day you’ll get to swim in the Olympics!”_

_“In that case…” she gave the swimmers on the screen a quick glance, and couldn’t help but think that it would be nice to swim there “Sure!” she added, smiling at her brother, who looked at her happily upon hearing that “I promise”_

* * *

 

“Another personal record, Haru!” Rosa exclaimed by the pool, once said boy had finished the 100 meters. She was in her old swimsuit, the one she used when she was over in England, and she was surprised to see it still fitted. It felt weird to use it again after so long, but it felt right “You keep on surprising me”

“That training camp from hell really payed off!” Gou added “Rosa, your turn” she added. When Rosalya told her and Miss A that she was making a comeback to swimming, Gou almost yelled for joy. She was sure that was a great step to make her brother return to his old self, if his best friend took up what brought them together in the first place again.

“On it!” the girl exclaimed, handing Makoto the cronometer, before diving in and beginning her laps. Even though she didn’t have a lot of time to practice, she was going to participate in the 100 and 200 meters butterfly. She hoped she at least would be able to get a spot in the top five, otherwise it would be kind of embarrassing for her. She had no idea who she was up against though, which was a bit nerve-wracking. But she would give it her all, like she always did.

“Her stroke hasn’t changed” observed Makoto as the girl swam, her kicks had always been the best ones of the group. It was her strong point.

“She’s improved a lot though!” Nagisa added, as four pairs of eyes looked at her amazed, even Rei had stopped his swimming to watch her. It wasn’t the first time he saw her, since they had been training a lot for the past weeks after the camp, but he still found it incredibly beautiful.

“She was at a swimming school for five years” the young Matsuoka replied logically, as the girl finished her lap.

“How was that?” she questioned, pulling off her cap.

“Uh…” Gou compared her previous record with this one “It’s still the same” she added a bit remorsefully.

“There’s always room for improvement” Makoto assured “Don’t forget how far we’ve come in such a short time”

“I know!” replied the girl cheerfully “I can’t expect to break any records just yet considering I’ve stayed away from swimming for so long”

“How do you feel?” the other girl questioned curiously.

“Pretty good” she replied with honesty “I hadn’t realized how much I missed the water, or all this in general” she added, before setting her gaze on Rei who had picked up his practice again.

“Rei’s dedication is impressive” the manager commented, reading Rosa’s mind “And he’s in great shape, so I think at this rate it’s matter of time before he catches up to all of you”

“However, we only have two more days before the tournament” Rosa spoke up, making everyone turn to look at her “So we should keep swimming and improving as much as we can. And...Considering I have to improve a lot as well, I think after the tournament we should find a proper coach”

“But you’re our coach!” Nagisa argued.

“Yeah, I know, but I do want to improve my swimming as much as possible, and I can’t focus on our training and my improvement at the same time” she explained “Now there’s no one available, but afterwards we can begin looking”

“Don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today!” Gou exclaimed.

“Okay, Miss Amakata” Rosa mocked with a chuckle “We won’t find someone two days before the competition”

“Never say never!” she kept exclaiming.

“We don’t need none of that” Haru stated nonchalantly, before diving once more.

“It’s not necessary for him, because he doesn’t need a coach” Mako stated.

“It’s Haru, he’s his own coach” Rosalya pointed out, making the olive haired chuckle slightly.

* * *

 

One. Two. Three.

Rin rang the bell to Haru’s house for the fourth time, but still no response.

‘Maybe he’s not here’ he thought as he slid the door open, he didn’t come all that way just to leave.

“Why is the door unlocked?” he questioned confused as he got in “Anybody home?” still no response. The house was seemingly empty, except for a bowl of water right in the middle of the living room, with a single goldfish inside, who was swimming placidly.

A board creaked, startling him. He thought there wasn’t anyone there.

“What are you doing here?” Haruka’s stern voice came from behind him.

“The door was opened, and I let myself in” Rin replied calmly, turning around slowly to face the black haired “I’m here to challenge you to a race”

“I only swim free, or did you forget?” Haru replied stubbornly, making Rin’s blood boil. Shadows of different goldfish could be seen on the floor, as the black haired turned around to walk through the door.

“Hold it!” Rin exclaimed, going after him. When he walked through the door, a blinding light shone on him, and when he opened his eyes again, he was no longer in Haru’s house but on a bridge, surrounded by cherry blossom trees, the petals falling down and covering the floor. And in Haru’s place, there was a girl turned around, with black hair and a white dress “Rosalya?” he questioned softly, and the girl turned around when she heard his call, revealing the smiling face of his best friend.

“Hey, Rin” she greeted calmly as she approached him. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, as he watched her get closer and closer to him. Her smile was charming, but her eyes flirty. Rin attempted to take a step back because of how close she was, but he was pressed up against the rail, so he couldn’t.

When he turned to look back at her, she was inches away from his face; they were practically breathing each other’s air. He really tried not to, but his gaze went to her lips for a split second before looking back into her eyes, which somehow made him even more nervous “Come with me” she said, almost in a whisper, her gaze also lingering on his lips for more than a few seconds before turning around. Rin’s heart was pounding out of his chest as she watched her grow further and further away “C’mon!” she indicated.

Another blinding light, and they were back in elementary, just two kids racing out of the school and through the city, aiming for the swimming club.

“Try to keep up!” young Rosalya yelled with a laugh, some meters away from him “We’re almost there!”

“You cheated!” young Rin replied.

“You only say that because I’m winning!” she said back, in a somewhat singy voice.

“You wish!” Rin shot, increasing his pace to catch up to her.

And just like that, it was gone.

He didn't sleep well that night.

* * *

 

“Do you think Rin will want to see you swimming, Rosa?” Nagisa questioned later that day, as the four of them sat by a shrine. Haru and Gou were just some meters away.

“I don’t know” she replied, shaking her head “I hope so, but you never know with Rin” she didn’t even know if he was aware that she had come back to swimming. After that lucky encounter at the training camp, she hadn’t seen him again.

“I heard he decided not to compete in either the butterfly or the relay” Nagisa added “Do you think it’s because Haru didn’t sign up for those events?”

“Possibly” Rosalya replied “He is set on competing against Haru at all costs, so it doesn’t really surprise me that it seems to be his priority” she wondered why it was that way, but she had a feeling she wouldn’t get an answer soon.

“But why would it be so important whether or not Haru signs up for an event?” Rei questioned, not aware of the history that those two shared.

“It’s hard to explain” Nagisa replied, remembering junior school, and how Rin seemed to be so keen on Haru swimming with him “It’s just the way they are”

“At least, for now, we shouldn’t really try to give it a reason” Rosa added “Some things just can’t be explained”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Rei asked, still curious.

“It’s a long story” Makoto replied, patting his shoulder in a friendly manner “Our team is picking individual events based on our strengths, so maybe it’s all just part of his strategy” Rosa was sure that it wasn’t part of any strategy, but she kept it to herself. She was sure Mako was aware of that as well, but didn’t want to irk Rei.

“Speaking of individual events, I really hoped to swim a relay” Rei admitted after some minutes of silence. Nagisa and Mako exchanged smiles upon hearing that, and Rosa had a grin of her own.

“You wanted to swim in a relay with us?!” Nagisa asked excited.

“Yes” replied Rei “I watched a video of the olympics out of curiosity, and seeing four accomplished athletes swimming different styles in succession, working in concert with a mutual objective...It was beautiful! Particularly when the one swimming butterfly finally touched the wall! The swimmers finishing is the most glorious part about the entire process! Watching those olympians showcase their powers left no room for doubt, there are others who feel exactly as I do-”

“What?!” Gou’s voice cut his epiphany, as they turned to look at Haru holding a piece of paper, that Rosalya recognized as an Omikuji “What do you think it means, Haru?”

“Hey, what’s going on guys?” Nagisa questioned, as the four of them approached them.

“Half-luck?” Rosa read what the paper said “That sounds ominous”

“I thought luck was good or bad” Makoto commented.

“It says it means you’re only half-lucky” Rei read.

“Then what’s the other half?” Gou questioned curiously.

“That’s deep!” the orange-haired exclaimed.

“It’s not deep, it’s confusing” corrected Rei.

“It could be both” pointed out Nagisa.

“It could, but it’s not” Makoto added.

As they talked, Rosa, out of sheer curiosity, decided to take one of those as well. She didn’t really believe in them, but why not. Just for fun.

**Chuu-kichi(Middle Blessing)**

**Your studies will do well**   
**Your business will have a small victory**   
**An old memory will change someone’s life**   
**A secret will no longer stay hidden**   
**An argument will break out**   
**Your life will be brighter**

She tried to make sense of what she was reading, but she couldn’t. Omikujis were hard to understand and interpret, especially since they weren’t very clear.

“Oh, what did you get?!” Nagisa questioned excitedly, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“Same as Haru” she replied, shrugging it off. She didn’t know what it meant, but she had a feeling it was way deeper than her friend’s, and she didn’t want to start a fuss.

* * *

 

Later that day, Nathan and Rosalya were hanging out at a coffee shop, after both of their trainings were done. The girl had just broken the news to him that she was making a comeback, and he was thrilled.

“Did you tell Joy about it?” he questioned, well aware of how much his sister loved Rosalya’s swimming, and how it bothered her slightly that she had made such a choice to leave it.

“I’m going to wait a little bit, I need to brace myself for her reaction, you know?” she replied; Joy would probably be the one out of all her friends who was the most excited for her.

“Fair enough” Nathan replied with a chuckle “My sister can be quite intense”

“Trust me, I know” she replied with a smile “She’s quite different from you in that regard”

“Hey, I have my own charms as well” the boy pointed out defensively, but good-heartedly.

“Charms? Where?” Rosa teased “I don’t see any” she added, playfully scanning the shop they were in.

“Very funny” Nathan replied seriously, but inside he was laughing. The two of them had been getting closer and closer the past few weeks, hanging out as much as their schedules allowed them to, and getting to know each other better. They had become very close in a short amount of time.

“How’s Samezuka treating you?” she questioned curiously.

“Exams are coming up soon, and I already see a cloud of books and interminable hours of study heading my way” he replied tiredly.

“Well, Mr. Scholarship, you don’t have much of a choice”

“Yeah, I know” he replied with a sigh “I’m just lazy”

“It’s worth it” she assured “If you pass these exams, you’ll be able to keep on swimming as much as you want”

“That’s what keeps me going” he replied, and Rosa stayed quiet for a few minutes, gathering her thoughts before beginning to speak once again.

“Hey” she called, making the boy look at him curiously “How’s Rin?” she added, as she remembered what Haru told them about the promise the two of them had made. The tournament was a day away, and, therefore, that promise would be fulfilled soon.

“Working hard like always” he replied, but then frowned as he remembered something else “He seemed kind of off today though”

“Off?” Rosa repeated, leaning forward on her seat “What do you mean?”

“He was just...Out of it” he replied “I asked Nitori about it, since he’s his roommate and all, and apparently he had a very bad dream” Rosa wasn’t surprised to hear that.

“He sometimes has those” she commented absentmindedly, remembering how Rin often had nightmares before a competition, especially when he was in Australia, but he refused to admit it out loud. Rosa had to pry it out of him, when she noticed he seemed worried.

“You know, if I remember correctly, you still owe me a very long story” he stated half-playful, half-serious. Ever since they met at the training camp, he was curious about their relationship, which seemed so weird and confusing for anyone from the outside to understand “Since I’m your double agent and all, you think you can let me in the secret?”

“I can” Rosalya replied. It was the least she could do, considering Nathan was helping her out with Rin despite having no idea why she was so insistent “I told you Rin and I knew each other from elementary, right?” she questioned, and he nodded expectantly “Well, we didn’t just know each other, we were best friends. The two of us, plus Nagisa, Haruka and Makoto were a swimming team, I was the coach”

“Obviously” Nathan replied with a grin, which made her smile as well.

“But at the end of elementary, Rin and I parted ways with them. Rin went to Australia, and I to England” she added, and then began to tell the story all of us know. How they stayed in touch, how she helped him, the promise they made, how he lost touch, how when she came back, they met him again but he was a completely different person, and, finally, why she decided to come back to swimming in the first place.

“What kind of soap opera is this?” Nathan couldn’t help cracking a joke to ease the serious atmosphere, making Rosa chuckle.

“I know” she replied “It’s all so dramatic, but it just happened”

“Rin is lucky to have you” he commented “Not many people would come back to someone after they treated them like garbage”

“I can’t help it” she said with honesty “It’s no secret that he’s very important to me. Some may say it’s idiotic, I prefer to refer to it as not giving up”

* * *

 

“I should really find a better place to do this” Rosa quietly chuckled to herself as she sat by the ocean before the tournament, the round object that once laid in her pocket, resting between her hands. They guys were already ahead, like she had told them to do, because she wanted to visit her brother. She had plenty of time “But I can’t exactly travel to LA everytime something like this happens” some people passing by gave her weird glances upon seeing her talking to what appeared to be herself while holding a coin, but she ignored them. She looked down at the small object between her hands, which shone as the sun reflected on it, clearly showing the markings and words carved on it. Ever since that day, she always had that with her, in her pocket or bag; it was a way to keep her little brother close to her heart  “I’m sorry, Luke. Not just for not reaching you in time that day, but for giving up on swimming altogether” she stayed silent for some minutes, wanting to let as much as she could off her chest “I just...Didn’t know what else to do, how else to cope with everything going on, I couldn’t put my all into the training and just decided that it was it, when in reality there were so many endless possibilities..." she looked up at the clear blue sky with a sigh, before a small smile crawled up her lips "But I’m here now, and I can finally say that I’m on the right track. No more stalling, no more fear” she nodded firmly, as a way to assure herself “I don’t know what will happen today, but I do know that this is what you wanted of me, and I hope to make you proud, little brother. No matter the result, I will be happy knowing that I managed to do that”

* * *

“Alright, guys, here’s the schedule for today” Gou announced later that day, once the whole team arrived “We’re going to kick it off with the freestyle events in the morning. According to this, Haru’s in the fifth lane”

“Look at that, Haru’s name is right next to Rin’s!” exclaimed Nagisa.

“They probably organize the list by the times they made” Rosalya commented.

“They’re pretty evenly matched then!” the orange-haired kept saying “I wonder if you and Rin still have the same time, Rosa” he added.

“I doubt it” Rosalya replied “He’s had much more training than I”

“The eight fastest swimmers from each event will move to the finals” Gou kept explaining “Advance to finals, you’ll qualify for regionals” upon hearing those words, Mako, Nagisa and Rei went ghostly pale.

“You’ll be fine!” Miss A encouraged from the stands “You have nothing to be nervous about! Just swim like it’s any other day”

“She’s right” Rosa replied “It doesn’t matter if we don’t make it, we still tried and that’s what’s important” she made a pause “But I better not see any of you getting a lower position than fourth” she added sternly, which made them shudder much to her amusement.

“Today’s our big chance to go out there and give it everything we’ve got” Makoto picked up where she left off “So whatever happens, remember to have fun”

“Yeah!”


	16. Pushing Through

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this chapter, my only request is that you remember the green phone that Rin found by the beach a few chapters ago.

Rosa followed Mako, Rei and Nagisa absentmindedly as they looked for Haru, who had lost the race against Rin, and from what she could manage to see from the stands, the latest was very pleased about it, almost mocking her friend and she didn’t know how to feel about it; it was whirlwind of emotions inside of her. Rin was her best friend and would always be, so she didn’t want to do or say anything that might hurt him, but Haru actually seemed very sad about losing, and Rin mocking him did not help him at all. She didn’t know who to side with in this situation. Should she take any sides at all?

“Why are you stopping me?” Rei asked sternly, turning to look at Makoto holding his wrist, and diverting the girl’s attention to them.

“Just...Because” 

“You both need to calm down” Nagisa exclaimed, while the girl remained quiet. Her gaze was set on someone walking their way, but she couldn’t tell who it was.

“Aren’t you the least bit worried that Haru might need our help?” Rei cried.

“Rin…” the girl could finally see the figure, and all eyes turn to look at him as he approached them.

“You’re here?” he questioned surprise, his hands in his pockets “What for?” he added, and then seemed to realized something “Oh, I forgot. You guys are competing in the tournament”

“So...Have you seen Haru around?” Nagisa wondered curiously.

“No, why?”

“Well...He hasn’t come back out yet and Rosa’s race is soon” he explained. Upon hearing that, Rin tried to hide his surprises as he set his gaze on the girl, who was also wearing the matching Iwatobi jacket, and her goggles were hanging from her pants.

“Maybe he’s sulking after I kicked his ass at freestyle” Rin replied cockily, and Rosa raised an eyebrow upon hearing his tone. She had never heard him talk that way before; sure, he bragged a lot, especially when they were kids, but he never did it with ill intentions. This time, it was different “Hey, he said he’s the one who didn’t care about winning. This is all on him” she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

“Well, if losing the race isn’t the issue, there must be some other answer” Rei observed, placing a finger underneath his chin thoughtfully.

“What?” Rin hissed “What else is there to care about? It’s all about winning” Rosa wasn’t surprised about hearing that, since she had heard him saying similar things before.

“Winning is a huge part of it” Rosa agreed, and Rin casted his gaze on her “But that’s not everything there is to swimming, and once upon a time you thought that as well”

“For Haru, there has always been more” Makoto backed her up “That’s the reason he wanted to race you. The person who made him care about it was you, Rin, remember?”

“You were until the very last minute trying to convince him of swimming that relay” Rosa added, trying to get through him “Remember, in junior school? You and he-”

“I don’t care!” he cut her off with a yell, which startled the girl who opened her eyes wide upon seeing how worked up he seemed “I already beat him! I’m done here!” he added, before walking away. She stayed in her place for a few minutes, before going after him.

“Rin” she called, but he didn’t stop until she grabbed him from the wrist to force him to “Remember the promise I made to you?” Rin opened his eyes wide and tensed upon hearing that; he did remember “I promised that I would always be there for you, and you know that I don’t break my promises” he stayed silent, not knowing what to say, but knowing that she was right “I will always come back” she stated firmly “No matter what you say to me, no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try to push me away, I will always. Come. Back” she let go of him, and left, leaving him to think and reflect on her words.

* * *

 

He tried not to, but he couldn’t help it.

By 12:10 PM, Rin was standing by the bleachers to watch Rosalya’s race. It had been a long time since he last saw her swimming, and he was actually kind of looking forward to it. Her words right before were still resonating within him; he hadn’t thought about the promise in a very long time, in fact, he had almost completely forgotten about it until she brought it up.

It was years ago, and he couldn’t afford thinking about it now. He just needed to focus on his swimming and being the best he could be. He didn’t want to get distracted, and Rosa...She was a lot more than just a distraction.

The race started, and Rin’s gaze immediately went to the girl, everything else was just background noise.

Her technique hadn’t changed, but it had improved a lot since the last time he saw it, which was five years ago. The school she had attended had really payed off. But while she was toe to toe to some of the other girls, many more were ahead of her.

“She isn’t going to make it” Rin said to himself, and as harsh as it sounded, it didn’t come as a surprise to him, because she hadn’t touched the water in over a year. He was sure she kept trying to maintain her shape, thankfully she had always been very athletic, but doing some laps and going to the gym wasn’t the same as getting into the actual water. She didn’t make any mistakes with the kicks or stroke, she was just slower than usual.

“Let’s go! Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go Rosalya!” he heard a man yelling, and when he turned to look at the bleachers, he found Mako, Nagisa, Ryugazaki, his sister, a woman holding an umbrella and Coach Sasabe cheering for the girl. Haru wasn’t with them.

“Let’s go! Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go Rosalya!”

“Push it, push it, push it Rosalya!”

“Push it, push it, push it Rosalya!”

But unfortunately, that wasn’t enough. She didn’t qualify, and Rin swallowed the bitter taste on his mouth.

As the girl got off the pool, she looked up towards the bleachers, and before he could do anything, her gaze met his. Embarrassed about being caught, Rin looked to the other side to avoid her gaze. Rosa’s heart swelled upon seeing him walking away, happy that he was cheering for her in his own way.

* * *

 

“I’m sorry” Rei apologized to everyone later that day, when the tournament was done for the day “When it came down to it, I was decidedly inferior”

“Oh, c’mon, don’t say that” Miss A comforted “You swam a personal best today, that’s something worth celebrating”

“She’s right, Rei” Rosa went on “It was your first competition today, and you nailed it in my opinion”

“And if your goggles hadn’t slipped off, you might have made it to the finals” Nagisa commented.

“Thank you, but that seems a bit unlikely” Rei said remorsefully

“Oh, I think you should all be very proud of your performances” the teacher continued “You worked incredibly hard”

“I’m feeling accomplished, how about you?” Nagisa said optimistically.

“Yeah, I’m already getting pumped up for the next tournament” Makoto replied with a smile.

“Hey, isn’t Nanase coming with us?” Miss A questioned upon not seeing Haru anywhere. Rosa hadn’t actually seen him either since his race with Rin, she hoped he was okay.

“I’m pretty sure he already took off” Nagisa explained.

“What? Really?” Gou questioned, not aware of the encounter the four of them had with her brother.

“Yeah, he felt like he was coming down with something” the olive haired lied with a nervous smile.

“Oh, I supposed it couldn’t be helped then” replied the woman “Can you take it from here, Matsuoka?”

“Yeah, sure”

“Alright, it’s been fun. You kids get back safely, okay?” Miss A said her farewell, before getting in her pink car and driving off.

“I haven’t had my blood pumping like that in a while!” Coach Sasabe exclaimed, before driving off in his pizza delivery cart “You’ve done a good work!” he added, before disappearing off sight.

“Did he really drive that thing here?” Makoto questioned in disbelief, while Rosa just chuckled slightly

“I assume he has permission from work” she stated. Silence reigned for a few minutes; everyone had gone home, the sun was setting and some crickets could already be heard around.

“I guess it’s over” Nagisa spoke up softly, placing his hands behind his back.

“Yeah…” Mako trailed off.

“I feel fulfilled” admitted Rei “But...It still would have been nice to get to regionals”

“Especially after all the hard work we put in” the captain went on “I thought at least one of us would make it through”

“I thought Rosa was going to make it for sure” Rei commented.

“Considering the fact that I’ve only recently come back, I couldn’t expect a lot” the girl replied “But I did my best, we all did, and that’s what matters the most” she added with a nod “But why are you speaking as if this were the end?” she demanded “We might have lost a tournament, but this was just the beginning. We will have plenty more opportunities to win! We just have to keep training hard, like we have done so far!”

“There’s a lot more to swimming than I thought” Rei said once again, trying to break the gloomy atmosphere that grew “I’m getting pumped!”

“It’s a little late for enthusiasm” the orange haired replied.

“No” their manager spoke up firmly, making all eyes look at her “It’s far from too late, we still have got one more day! Don’t you remember?”

“All our events were today, Gou” replied Rosa “All that’s left is the individual medley and the relays...Wait a minute” she added, a suspicion already devising in her head as she looked sharply at the girl “Gou…”

“I’m so sorry!” she quickly apologized, bowing at them “I secretly signed all of you up for the relay tomorrow!”

“How could you do that without consulting me?!” Rosa demanded in disbelief “I’m still the coach, remember?”

“I’m sorry...I wasn’t sure you would agree” she said remorsefully “I already told Miss Amakata about it too…”

“So...If we won the relay tomorrow...” Nagisa began.

“...Then you would qualify for regionals”

“No way! I’m sorry, but it’s too out of the blue” Makoto argued “On top of that, we haven’t had any time to practice for a medley relay”

“If you’d have told us sooner, we would have made time” Nagisa replied.

“I know it’s not ideal, but I realized that if I had, you and Haru would have said no right away”

“Let’s do it” Rei said decidedly.

“For real?”

“This is our last chance, we’d be fools not to capitalize on it” he explained “So we haven’t practiced, who cares. It still has to be worth a try” the guys nodded, before looking at Rosa expectantly.

“Okay, fine” she stated, folding her arms “Despite this having not been consulted with me, which is one of the problems” she said sharply, looking at the other girl in disapproval who lowered her head in shame “The other issue is, will Haru agree to it?”

“Let’s go ask him!” Nagisa exclaimed.

* * *

 

“He still isn’t back yet” Gou commented later that night, as all five of them waited at Haru’s house for him, to tell him about the relay.

“Where could he be at this hour?” Nagisa wondered, looking at the clock that marked 9 PM.

“What if…” Rei trailed off, hinting at the worst.

“Aren’t you just a ball of optimism?” Rosalya asked sarcastically, having an idea of what he was thinking “Knowing him, he’s probably just in a pool somewhere. He’ll have to come back eventually”

“Yeah, try not to worry” Makoto called out from the steps that lead to the backyard “Haru may be quiet, but he’s no pushover”

“Wait, his cellphone!” Nagisa exclaimed “We should call him”

“Since when does Haru have a cell phone?” Gou questioned in surprised.

“Since when does Haru know what a cellphone is?” Rosalya added.

“And why are you just know mentioning it?” added Rei. All Mako could do upon hearing his friends’ exchange was giggle softly.

“Sorry, I just kind of forgot he had it. To be honest, I’ve never actually seen him use it”

“Whatever, it’s the beast lead we have”

“You can use mine” offered Rosa, handing them her green phone.

“Thanks” Nagisa replied, turning the screen one, and seeing the wallpaper “Hey, that’s a nice photo” it was a picture of Rin and her back in elementary, Rosa piggyback riding Rin, as both of them laughed joyfully, not aware that someone was capturing that moment and storing it forever.

“Thanks” she said with a smile, as she remembered that day and Nagisa called Haruka, but there was no answer from the other side.

“It went to voicemail!’

“Leave a message” urged Rei “Sound urgent”

“Where are you?” Nagisa questioned as the message began recording “We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

“Please, hurry home or get in touch!” Rei added, snatching the phone from Nagisa’s hands “We’re all worried sick!”

“Okay, I know you’ll be kind of mad, but I signed all of you up for the medley relay tomorrow and we really need you!”

“She did it without consulting me which I’m still mad about, but this is the last chance for the club to go to regionals!”

“And don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine as long as I memorize the theory for tomorrow, I won’t let you down!”

“Rei, that’s a sure sign you’re gonna fail!” Nagisa cried, completely forgetting that the message was still recording.

“If I analyze the factors by sunrise, I should be golden!”

“Your message has recorded” the voicemail announced.

“There’s no way he’ll return the call after that chaotic message, we’re so screwed” Gou lamented.

“It’s okay!” Nagisa assured “It’s confusing, but I think our message really has what it takes to touch Haru’s heart deep down”

“You’ve got to be kidding me” Rosalya announced, making all eyes look at her worriedly, and as a response she just motioned to Haru’s phone on the table.

“The reason why you never see Haru using his cellphone is because he always leaves it home” Makoto spoke once again, letting them know that he was still there.

“Couldn’t you have said that five minutes ago?” the girl scolded, while the rest just sighed

“It’s getting pretty late, we should probably pack up for the night” replied Makoto.

“But…” Gou attempted to argue.

“I don’t think Haru will swim tomorrow” Makoto admitted.

“Hey, what did I say about optimism?” Rosalya asked sharply “It’s your best friend” he just chuckled upon hearing that.

“Sorry”

* * *

 

Very later that night, while Rosalya was lying on her bed reading, she received a message. Stretching out to reach her phone, past the framed picture of Rin and she, she grabbed it.

And what she saw brought a huge smile to her face.

**Good job on your race today, glad to see you back.**   
**-Rin**

 


	17. Always Come Back

“Since I am not swimming in any tournaments, you’re back under my training” Rosa stated. She would keep swimming and training on her own, but right now her goal was to get the guys to nationals “Rei, you’ll need to work extra hard on your kick. If you wanna compete, your leg work needs to be faster and stronger”

“Very well”

“Nagisa, you’ll need to concentrate on improving your cross stroke, okay?”

“Sure thing!”

“Makoto, I want you to spend your time working on accelerating more evenly”

“Got it”

“And Haru…” she turned to look at the boy, only to find that he was climbing up from the pool after being in the water. She couldn’t hold back her smile “You’re perfect just as you are now, don’t change anything” the olive haired chuckled upon hearing that “Okay then, let’s start with the group warm up”

“Here you go” Gou said, handing Haru a stack of towels to choose from.

“Thank you”

“Haru’s really pumped up, isn’t he?” Nagisa questioned curiously, looking at the rest as their manager and Haru engaged in idle chatter.

“I can only imagine how upset he is losing the freestyle at district” Rei commented remorsefully.

“Maybe you’re right” the orange haired agreed.

“I don’t think that’s the case here” Rosalya stated, folding her arms as she watched Haru and Gou interacting “He will get to swim with him again at regionals, I think that’s why he’s so energized” she added as the boys looked at her curiously.

Maybe that was it.

“I’m really happy to see you out there working hard and trying to get better” the maroon haired girl said kindly.

“I’m not” he replied, once his hair was dried “I’m swimming because I didn’t know what else to do” he added, looking back at the pool “When I feel lost, I look for advice from the water” Rosalya couldn’t help giggling slightly, since she did the same thing. Only difference was that she was talking to a person...Kind of, while Haru just swam quietly, immersed in his thoughts.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Gou questioned confused.

“He’s just special” Rosa said with a giggle ”Well, let’s not stall anymore. let’s begin warming up”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“And no running by the pool you two!” Gou warned Rei and Nagisa, but it was too late “Ugh…”

“Don’t worry” Rosa assured, approaching her as Haru and Mako got into the pool as well “They’ll be fine”

“If you say so” she replied, and then added softly “Hey, Rosa?” the girl looked at her curiously upon hearing that “Are you still mad at me because of the relay?”

“The fact that you didn’t talk it with me is upsetting” she admitted “But it doesn’t matter now, I just want them to have fun. I don’t want it to happen again though” Gou nodded firmly upon hearing that.

“Have you talked to my brother lately?” she questioned, and Rosa had, many times, but some of the talks were private and she didn’t want to elaborate a lot on them.

“A few times” she replied, tilting her head to the side “I’m doing my best, but it’s not as easy as one might think”

“Thanks for trying anyway”

“No need to thank me” she replied, shaking her head “Rin’s my best friend, I’d do anything for him”

* * *

 

“Hey guys, sorry I’m late!” Rosalya announced to her friends later that day, at the street festival. They were going to go to a shrine to pray before regionals “Getting in this thing is a lot harder than I remembered it being” she added with a small chuckle, motioning to her yukata. She didn’t have any of her own, since most of them were small girl sized and obviously didn’t fit, so her aunt let her borrow one of her old ones. She had tied her hair up into a japanese bun, keeping it in place with a red pin.

“You look great!” Nagisa exclaimed, making her smile.

“Thanks, Nagi!” she replied cheerfully, as she looked around “This place looks beautiful”

“Did you come here a lot?” Rei questioned curiously.

“I brought Luke over every year” she admitted with an assuring smile, letting them know she was fine talking about it “He loved eating caramelized apples, he could eat up to five without stopping”

“He must have had a big stomach!” Nagisa exclaimed, making her chuckle.

“You could say that”

“I’m glad you guys are here!” the five of them heard a voice behind them, and turned around to find Gou and her friend, Hana, standing there.

“Hi, Gou!” Nagisa exclaimed.

“And me” her friend said from behind “Hi”

“You look great!”

“The both of you look very cute” Makoto complimented them, making them giggle.

“Is it us or the outfit?” Hana teased, and Mako opened his eyes wide, not knowing what to reply.

“Both” Rosalya spoke up for him.

“You look awesome as well, Rosa!” the maroon-haired exclaimed, making her smile.

“Thanks, I haven’t worn one of these in forever” she admitted. It was a bit nerve-wracking, because it wasn’t her usual style, but she was doing her best to pull it off.

“Perhaps we should grab a bite to eat?” Rei suggested, and everyone agreed.

“I recommend the squid paideia” Hana spoke up “It’s delicious!”

“Count me in!” Nagisa exclaimed.

“If you wanna meet up later, we’ll be watching the squidding calligraphy contest “ Gou announced, before going off, the rest quickly losing them amongst the crowd. The streets were packed.

“Well, what are you in the mood for?” Makoto asked.

“That’s an easy one, grilled squidballs!” Nagisa replied.

“Hmm...I prefer squid tempua” Rei said.

“I’m fine with whatever” Rosa replied “I haven’t eaten squid in any form for a long time”

“Maybe we can have both!” Makoto stated with a chuckle.

“That paideia sounds really good!” Nagisa added.

“Someone’s hungry” the girl said good-heartedly, making him giggle nervously.

“Let’s see what options we have” Makoto replied as they began walking through the streets.

“Hey, I’m going take a look at that stall!” she announced, motioning to a stall that sold some squidballs as everyone turned to look at her “I’ll be right back!”

“We’ll wait for you here” Makoto said with a smile, to which he nodded before going away.

It turned out to be further than she expected, but she didn’t stop until she reached it, only to find that there were too many people in line, and she didn’t want to leave her friends hanging for so long.

“Maybe later” she mumbled, before turning around and walking back to the guys.

She walked around for ten minutes, but she couldn’t see them around.

“Where are they?” she questioned with a frown, scanning the area. She had lost sight of them, she didn’t even try to call them because there was no way they would be able to hear her amongst all the talking. She was so busy trying to look ahead as she walked, that she bumped into a bunch of people “Sorry!” she apologized promptly, the streets were packed that night, which was no surprise, the festival had always been a very popular event in Iwatobi “Excuse me, sorry” she kept saying between pushes and pulls, as she slid in a very narrow passage people were making. A group of kids passed by running, and she stopped abruptly so as not get in their way. Her geta were not helping her to stay in balance, as she wondered where the guys could be. She doubted they had their cellphones on them, so calling them was not an idea. She didn’t know what it was with her friends not using cellphones, it was quite annoying sometimes. What would she do if one day she was in an actual dangerous situation and she needed to reach them? At least now all she had to do was walk until seeing them, there were a lot of people and light, so it wasn’t troublesome. She just needed to backtrack, or sit somewhere until they found her.

As she was thinking this, she stepped in a crack on the pavement, and slipped down. But instead of feeling pain in her knees, she felt a warm hand on her wrist.

Looking up, she saw a very familiar pair of red eyes looking down at her meekly.

“Rosa?” Rin’s voice spoke up, his eyes opening wide.

“A-are you okay?” looking to the side, she found Nitori looking at her with concern.

“Yup, perfect” she replied with a nod, and she did her best to ignore the sparks in her body when Rin’s other hand supported her shoulder as she stood up “Thanks…” she replied.

“You’re too clumsy, there’s a lot of people here” the maroon haired muttered, as the girl arched her eyebrows.

Had she heard that right? Was Rin actually expressing concern for her?

He seemed to realize that as well, and averted her gaze, with a slight red tint on his cheeks which he pretended not to notice.

“Always have, always will be” she replied with a small chuckle, not wanting to make Rin uncomfortable in Nitori’s presence, but if he had been by himself it would be a different thing “Are you enjoying the festival?”

“Y-yeah” the white haired replied.

“Are the rest here with you?” Rin chimed in, turning to look back at her.

“No, just me, myself and I” she lied, shaking her head. After the race Rin and Haru shared, she wasn’t sure it was such a great idea for them to meet, she wanted to prevent any uncomfortable situations. Especially because of how badly Haru had been affected by losing to him.

Rin raised an eyebrow upon hearing that, somehow he didn’t believe it “I’m actually looking for your sister” she added, to back up her lie as she looked over his shoulder, to see four familiar faces looking around “I should probably get going” she said nervously “It was nice seeing you here, enjoy the festival!” she went of, and she didn’t notice a pair of red eyes watching after her, not noticing anything else around her.

“Rosa, there you are!” Nagisa exclaimed upon seeing the girl approaching them, with Rei besides him, and he seemed equally relieved “We were worried about you! You took a long time!”

“Sorry about that” she replied “I got sidetracked a bit” she added, looking over her shoulder, to see Rin and Nitori walking away.

“Is everything okay?” Rei questioned.

“Not really” she shook her head “Rin’s here” their eyes opened wide upon hearing that.

“What?! Rin? Where?” Nagisa questioned, scanning the area, and she motioned towards the two of them behind her. Rei immediately brought both of them down.

“Talk about bad timing, huh?” he questioned.

“Tell me about it” replied Nagisa.

“Rosa, so glad we found you!” Makoto’s voice came from behind, startling them “You kind of just disappeared”

“I didn’t mean to” she replied, shaking her head and doing her best to hide her nervousness, but it didn’t completely fool Mako.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, everything’s fine!” she quickly assured “We were just discussing what to eat”

“Why don’t we go play a shooting game, guys?” Nagisa suggested.

“There’s one right over there” Haruka said, and attempted to look at the stand, but Rosa, who had seen Rin and Nitori walking behind them out of the corner of her eye, falsely stumbled so she could get their attention.

“Are you okay?” Makoto questioned worriedly.

“Yeah!” she replied with a smile “I’m just not used to walking in these geta” she added “I would really like to get a squid burger, I’m hungry”

“Sounds like a wonderful idea!” Rei replied promptly and almost too loudly, and Rosa almost facepalmed at how bad they were at lying.

“Why don’t you two go find a table while we get burgers for everyone?” Nagisa suggested.

“That’s nice of you, but I don’t really want a burger” Makoto replied.

“Well...Go wait for us anyway” Nagisa stated, not so subtlety winking at him. Not once. Not twice. Thrice until he got the point.

“Okay” he finally spoke up, understanding “Let’s go Haru. We’re gonna need to find a spot for all five of us”

“All right” Haru agreed and both of them walked away.

“You can’t lie to save your lives” that was the first thing Rosalya said when they were alone, while they sighed tiredly.

“The reason I invited Haru here in the fist place was to get his mind off swimming for a while” Nagisa admitted.

“Seems now your plan might have the opposite effect” Rei replied.

“You’re right, if he gets too stressed he might ditch the relay at regionals”

“I don’t think he’ll do that” Rosalya chimed in “But I do believe them meeting will not be the idealest of situations, for either one of them” she saw it in Rin’s face when the guys swam the relay, that he had anger, pain, and sadness all mixed into one giant salad of confusion. To be honest, seeing either one of the guys would be a toll on him, and not very healthy for his sanity. She didn’t want that for him.

“We have to do whatever it takes to make sure the two of them don’t cross paths tonight” Nagisa stated.

“I’m in agreement” Rei replied.

“Rei, Rosa” Nagisa stated, placing one hand in each of their shoulders, earning him confused looks “You have to follow Rin”

“What?!” they questioned at the same time in disbelief.

“Once you get a location, you find me and tell me where he is” Nagisa indicated, but Rosa wasn’t convinced about that plan “We’ll lead Haru someplace safe, so neither of them know the other is here”

“It’s a good plan” Rei replied, and Rosa arched her eyebrows in surprise upon hearing that “But are you enjoying this?” he added, sharply, and oh, he was. Rosalya was sure of it, Nagisa had always been playful like that. And that’s what she liked the most about him.

“Never mind, focus! We have work to do!” Nagisa replied, ignoring his question. Rosa knew there was no way out of this, so all she could do was sigh and reluctantly follow behind Rei.

“So we’re really doing this mission impossible stuff?” Rosa questioned and Rei and her hid behind a stand.

“Yes, we’ve been entrusted with a task of enormous importance” he replied, peeking from behind to see where Rin was heading “Target is 5 ft 8 inches high and has an estimated weight of 150 pounds. Red hair, pointy teeth”

“How is that relevant?” Rosalya demanded, but Rei didn’t answer.

“Commence pursuit” as Rei ducked underneath a stand to hide behind another, Rosa saw three kids looking at him as if he was crazy. She just chuckled in amusement and calmly followed her friend. They walked some distance away from the two guys; Rin turned around, but both “spies” were quick enough to stay out of sight. Rei tried on a mask to hide his face, while the girl just grabbed a nearby umbrella and leaned it on her shoulder, giving them her back.

“Are you okay?” she heard Nitori ask Rin.

“Yeah, I’m fine” he replied “Let’s get out of here” she frowned. ‘Out of here?’ Where did he want to go?

“I’m a ninja” Rei praised himself, taking the mask off “That’s a very clever hiding mean” he added, looking at the girl besides him “He didn’t even see you”

“I have to admit, this is kind of fun” she said with a smile, leaving the umbrella back where she had taken it from as Rei took out his phone to text Nagisa, and Rosa groaned annoyed. If she knew that he had it on him, that would have saved her a whole lot of trouble, but she had to admit she was happy to see Rin.

Fix You

“There aren’t any stalls here” they heard Nitori state as the both of them took cover behind two light poles. They were by the beach, on their way to the main road. That route seemed familiar to Rosa, but she didn’t know why.

“Yeah, I know” Rin replied, but didn’t stop walking.

“Should we head back?” the white-haired questioned, and after some seconds of silence, the other guy spoke up.

“You can if you want to” upon hearing that, Nitori stopped, and watched after him worriedly. Rei and Rosa managed to sneak past him without being caught, and followed Rin’s path.

After some more minutes of walking, they passed by a park and Rosa immediately realized where he was heading. She had been in that same park many times after class back in junior school, she often hung out there with the guys, waiting for the swimming club to open so they could go.

Rin was going to their old elementary school.

“Is something wrong?” Rei questioned upon seeing she wasn’t moving.

“I know where he is going” she replied “Why don’t you head back and report to Nagisa? I can follow him” she had a feeling that what they would witness if they followed him all the way to the school, wasn’t meant for anyone to see.

“Are you sure?” asked Rei doubtfully,

“Yeah” she assured with a smile “There are still many stalls you haven’t seen, don’t waste your time doing this”

After a few seconds of doubt, he finally agreed and went off, leaving Rosa behind, who took a deep breath before following her friend.

As soon as she read the plaque Iwatobi Elementary School, memories washed over her like waves breaking by the shore. It was hard to grasp the fact that they had taken place so many years ago, for Rosa it seemed only months, but it had been years. Five years. And so many things had changed.

The night was quiet, stars were in the sky, but they weren’t shining like they usually did. Maybe it was the events that had happened that day, the words that had been said the past few days, the place two childhood friends were at, but something was different.

That pavement Rosa had walked through so many times before wasn’t steady anymore, the cherry blossom tree on school grounds she had learned to love so much was gone, waiting for spring to come back once again so it could shine in all its glory. The bricks they had written all their phrases in at the end of elementary were worn out, with the words barely readable anymore, and the building she had spent so many years of her life in was old, rusty and dirty, unrecognizable. The only thing familiar in that place was the person standing just outside the gate. A man with maroon hair and shark-like teeth.

_Here’s the one I wrote. It’s what I’m all about, thanks to you four._

Rosa remembered the spark Rin had in his eyes the first time they met as if it had been yesterday. Those red eyes shining with passion, with the desire to compete in a relay with three completely different boys, and a girl whom he’d grow to call his best friend.

_A relay has four members. What would I be? The cheerleader?_   
_I was thinking of you more as the coach. I’ve seen you swimming many times._   
_I want it to be special, and for it to be you have to be with us._

Rosalya had gradually seen Rin lose the shine in his eyes, as walls and more walls kept getting in the way of his passion and his dream, until there was almost nothing left of it.

_How is training going by the way?_   
_Uh...Good._   
_You don’t sound convinced._   
_I said good, okay?_

Until the guy she had met all those years ago was nothing but a shell, inside a person trying to mask his insecurities and fears, product of the many difficulties he had encountered throughout his entire life, with pride and a wish of revenge that would lead nowhere.

_Maybe he’s sulking after I kicked his ass at freestyle._   
_He said he’s the one who didn’t care about winning. This is all on him._

Rosalya watched in pain as Rin’s knuckles turned white the more he grasped the gate, trying to hold onto memories that were no longer there, wanting to experience again the thrill he had felt all those years ago, the passion he once had for swimming.

_I thought that if I could win the medal in a medley relay in my dad’s old swim club, and get to know him better, go through what he did, you know, it’d give me the direction I need to do this right._   
_Australia is all about me living his dream._

A passion which now had been replaced with anger and a aching void that only grew wider and wider the longer he detached from everything around him.

_Are you seriously still hanging out with these guys? It’s a little pathetic._

Rosalya wanted to break the shell holding him captive. She was like a wolf, chasing after someone who didn’t want to be found.

_This is me, I’ve always been like this._   
_Maybe you don’t know me at all._

She wanted the spark in his eyes to come back.

_We’re a team, and as long as we’re together I want us to be the best team that we can be!_

She wanted her best friend, the person she had had a crush on for four years back.

_Thank you for choosing me to be in the relay team with you._   
_There wasn’t anyone else. It couldn’t be anyone else._

She wanted to save him from losing himself. She wanted to rescue him from the darkness.

_You’re my best friend, I will always be there for you, no matter what. I promise._

She wanted to fix him.

_I thought that if he saw his old team, he’d probably open up about it. Especially since you were there._

Tears were on her eyes when he saw Rin’s hand grasping his shirt, the spot where his heart was, and when he heard Rin’s muffled sobs, she couldn’t take it. She felt his pain as if it was her own, as if she was feeling what he was feeling in flesh and blood. She wanted to take his pain away.

_No matter what you say to me, no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try to push me away, I will always. Come. Back_

Before she even grasped what she was doing, she sprinted towards him, and placed her hands around his waist, pulling him closer to her. Pulling him out of the shadows, and into her light. He had suffered a lot, and was still suffering no matter how hard he tried to prove otherwise; she didn’t want for him to go through it alone. And just like she had promised all those years ago, she was there for him. And always would be.


	18. Digging Up The Past

_“Rin, you’re so fast!” eleven year old Nagisa exclaimed, as soon as Rin emerged from the water after completing 100m butterfly at the swim club. The tournament was in two weeks, and they had been training hard under Rosa’s supervision for quite a while._

_“Huh, you and Rosa might even have similar times” Makoto observed, taking a look at the cronometer the girl was holding in her hands. Haru quietly, as always, did the same curiously._

_“She’s fast” Rin agreed, taking his swimming cap off and getting off the pool. Rosa smiled gratefully at him upon hearing that “But I wouldn’t really know, would I?” he added with a grin._

_“What, you mean you’ve never raced against each other before?” Nagisa questioned surprised, approaching them. All the kids had left the pool, it was just them there._

_“We never actually did now that you mention it” Rosa realized. Rin and she had known each other for almost a year now (the rest of the guys as well), and despite each other constantly praising the other’s skill, they had never actually gotten a taste of it themselves._

_“We should probably change that” the boy said, his shark like teeth showing through his smile._

_“You guys should race each other here!” Nagisa suggested, and he sounded the most excited out of all of them._

_“Now?” Mako questioned._

_“I’m up for it!” her best friend exclaimed, making the girl frown. It’s not that she didn’t want to, but the club was about to close soon._

_And just on cue…_

_“Hey, kids, the lessons ended some minutes ago” Coach Sasabe announced his presence, his head peeking from the hallway “I need to end the day”_

_“Wait, coach!” Nagisa replied “We’re about to witness the race of the century!” he added, and the girl chuckled slightly upon hearing his words._

_“I guess I can give you five some more time…” he trailed off, before disappearing behind the door._

_“So, what do you say?” Rin spoke up, casting his gaze towards the girl standing in front of him, as their friends surrounded them “100 meter butterfly race” he stuck his hand out for her to shake, as if signing a deal. Rosa nodded with a determined smile after some minutes._

_“It’d be my pleasure” she said, placing her hand on his and giving it a firm shake before tying her messy hair into a bun, and hiding it underneath the cap “Good luck” she added, getting on the platform and Rin on the one besides her._

_“Luck is for beginners” he said good-heartedly, pulling the strap of his cap for a second before letting it go, his signature move._

_“Mako, can you time us?” Rosa questioned, as the both of them lowered their goggles._

_“Y-yeah, sure” he nodded “Take your marks….Go!”_

_Splashes were immediately heard, as they swam underneath the surface, before quickly coming back up._

_“So fast!” Nagisa exclaimed, kneeling by the pool, his eyes shining as he watched the race unfold between Rin and Rosalya. Everyone else wasn’t far behind, even Haru was attracted to the race. It was hard to keep their eyes away, they didn’t want to miss any moment._

_They were almost halfway through, and either one of them was tired. Rosa was rejuvenated as she swam, knowing that Rin was right beside her. All the energy she had wasted on the past hour and a half came back like a boomerang, enhanced. The water opened up to her with every stroke, smoothing her path. The adrenaline run through her body, the thrill of racing her best friend consumed her._

_“They’re toe to toe!” exclaimed Mako “Here comes the turn!”_

_And even when they turned, they weren’t tired._

_Rin didn’t care about the race, being able to swim with his best friend was enough for him to have the time of his life. This was something they both loved, something they were extremely passionate about, and he was glad they could share it with each other. He wouldn’t have it any other way, in fact, he wanted it to last as much as possible._

_“I couldn’t tell who won!” Nagisa exclaimed, once both of them hit the wall and rose back up to the surface._

_“It was a perfect tie!” Makoto announced, and both friends opened their eyes wide upon hearing that._

_“Really?!” Rosa questioned, getting off the pool and approaching the boy. And in fact, the time was the same._

_“That’s so cool!” Nagisa stated, almost bouncing in his place, as the girl smiled._

_“We make quite the pair, Matsuoka” Rosaly said, sticking her hand out to help Rin out of the pool._

_“We do, Tawaraya” he replied, placing his hand on hers “But I’m better” he added, before pulling her to the pool with him. He bursted into laughter, and the others (minus Haru) chuckled slightly as well._

_“You’re so dead!”_

* * *

 

“The number you’re trying to reach is not available, either hang up or leave a message”

Rosa sighed as she heard the voicemail once again.

It had been an hour since she left the festival; after what happened with Rin, she didn’t feel like going back to her friends; they walked together back, and as soon as they arrived to the street where the festival was taking place, Nitori immediately approached them, more specifically Rin saying how concerned he was about him, and the girl just quietly walked away, needing time to gather her thoughts. She sent Nagisa a vague text letting him know she was going back since ‘she wasn’t feeling well’ so they wouldn’t worry, and went straight home. Rin and she hadn’t exchanged one word as they walked away from the school, but he seemed very broken and she was extremely worried. She wanted to see him.

“Hey, Rin” she said softly, she had lost count of how many messages she had left so far “I’m very worried about you, I need to know that you’re okay. Please let me know, you don’t even have to call back, just send me a text or something. And...I can’t believe I’m saying this, but don’t you dare do anything stupid” she sighed, and finally left her phone on the table. Her hands were sweating with how firmly she had been holding it; Toby on the floor besides her bed whimpered, sensing the girl’s sadness, and placed his head on her bed “At least you’re here, buddy” she said with a small smile, caressing him “I’ll be fine, I promise”

And right after, her phone vibrated. Hastily reaching for it, she looked down at the screen, but much to her disappointment, it was just Nathan. She sighed and opened the message, her eyes opening wide the moment she read it.

**News alert, Rin decided to participate in the relay team for Samezuka.**

* * *

 

In the meanwhile, Rin was lying on his bed back at his dorm, letting his phone ring, fully aware it was Rosalya who was calling. So far, she had left seven messages, and he hadn’t listened to either one of them. He didn’t know what to expect from them, and to be honest, it worried him. He had known the girl for years, and they had witnessed each other at very low moments in their lives, but what happened back at their old school was the lowest Rin had ever been in his life. No one had ever seen him like that, not even Rosalya.

He didn’t remember much, just the feeling of cold metal in between his fingertips, and two hands wrapping around his waist. Somehow, he knew it was the girl even before he looked at the colorful sleeves of her yukata. He didn’t do anything, he just stood there, his heart pounding in his chest and the taste of salt in his mouth. He was only embarrassed afterwards, and that’s why he couldn’t say one word, but at that moment...It just felt right. It was the two of them together again.

He had been feeling it for a very long while now, even before coming back to Iwatobi, that he no longer thought of Rosa the same way he had throughout their childhood. As much as he tried to deny it, he felt a strong affection for her. It was stronger than anything he had ever felt before for the girl.

“You have one new message” he heard the voicemail for the eighth time, and finally decided to stand up and listen to them. His thoughts would drive him crazy otherwise.

“Rin, please” he heard her soft voice, she sounded like she was crying or about to, and his heart skipped a beat “I don’t know what happened to you out there, but I want to help you. Please don’t ignore me, and at least listen to these messages. You need to be okay, I need you to be okay. Just...Be okay, please. That’s all I’m asking”

* * *

 

“C’mon, man! You gotta do better than that if you wanna swim!” Coach Sasabe’s voice resonated at the pool as the boys practiced for the medley relay, which would be just a couple of days later in the capital. Rosalya hadn’t been to it in a very long time, so she was excited to see how much it had changed over the course of five years “You’re pushing too hard for a relay dive, Nagisa, next time try jumping like an actual human being instead of a petrified frog!” Rosa couldn’t help chuckling. The man’s way of correcting the guys was hilarious, she had been cracking up for the past hour and a half.

“Why do you look like you’re enjoying this?” Makoto questioned with a sigh.

“Because I am”

“Makoto, your form is crap! What do you have against using your shoulders?!” she couldn’t help laughing once more upon seeing his friend’s expression because of being addressed so directly.

“Don’t get me wrong” Nagisa spoke up tiredly, as he climbed up the ladder to get off the pool “I’m glad Sasabe agreed to coach us, but sometimes I feel like he’s trying to kill us”

“I now understand why everyone calls him Wrath of the Demon” Makoto added, equally tired.

“Even so, you have to admit, he’s right in everything he says, even if he doesn’t say it in the most appealing of ways” replied Rosa, who still hadn’t heard back from Rin, but she knew he was okay when she received Nathan’s text last night. Physically, at least. Emotionally, she wasn’t so sure “And even I have to say, he’s making better corrections than I ever could”

“Well, he used to be a professional coach” pointed out Gou besides her.

“Yeah” the girl nodded “This was a good choice”

“You’re only saying that because you’re not swimming with us” replied Nagisa, his eyes swollen, and Rosalya smiled sympathetically at him.

“Right now, the priority is your relay” she said logically “I will get my taste of the Wrath of the Demon when all this is done”

“Rei, if you can’t come to the wall, give it another kick!” there he goes again “I said kick, not block! Haruka, watch your teammates!” he targeted said boy when he dived in “Remember, it’s a team event, you’re gonna have to work together on this! C’mon!” when all boys were out of the pool and gathered around him, he spoke up once again “You’re not in sync at all!” he huffed annoyed “You leave me no choice, boys. Get ready to see yourselves in a whole new light!”

“Where did he get all these cameras?” Gou questioned, looking around some minutes later, where cameras were placed strategically throughout the pool.

“Tawaraya, help me out here! Don’t just stand there like a plant!”

“Sir, yes, sir!” she replied promptly, leaving no time to answer to her friend as she and Sasabe slid two cameras, one across each side of the pool to follow Haru.

“Each camera captures a different perspective, so you can check your form from several angles simultaneously!” their manager explained amazed some time later, as the six of them watched screens showing Haru’s swim, who had already walked away by the time they finished to dive into the pool once more.

“This approach seems to have gotten him all fired up” Nagisa observed.

“The more energy you have, the better” Rosalya replied “You could learn a few things from him”

“So cold” the orange haired breathed out.

“Looking good, Haru!” Sasabe exclaimed.

“Why the long face, Rei? Are you okay?” Nagisa questioned, looking at said boy who had a gloomy expression as he looked at Haruka.

“From all intents and purposes, Haru’s form is more or less perfect now, but even though I know it’s an improvement, I have to say I’m a bigger fan of his earlier style. It was...More beautiful” Rosalya looked at him curiously upon hearing that, wondering what drove him to think it. She had noticed though, that ever since she told them Rin would swim in the Samezuka relay team, he seemed more excited than ever, in his own way. And she could guess why.

* * *

 

“Why are we doing a hot pot thing in the middle of summer?” Makoto questioned in disbelief, as everyone looked at the steamy food Sasabe had cooked for them. Rosa appreciated it, but she was very hot, and even had to tie her hair up to stop some of the heat.

“Because Coach wants to torture us” Rosalya replied half-kidding, and the man glared at her, so she said nothing else.

“Because according to research on sports medicine, it’s exactly what swimmers need the most” he replied excitedly, like he always was “Sasabe hot pot, full of vitamins, minerals and protein”

“Can we please turn on the air conditioning?” Nagisa questioned, already sweating slightly “I’m dying here”

“Sorry, no AC” the coach apologized.

“Any chance we cannot do this and say we did?” Rei questioned, already feeling warm even though he hadn’t even touched the pot.

“Any chance I can eat a salad since I’m not swimming next week?” Rosalya also asked, already knowing the answer to both, her question and Rei’s, was going to be negative. But it was worth a try.

“It’s rude to turn down a meal, and stupid to neglect nutrition” Sasabe stated sharply, handing both of them a bowl of food.

Some time later, after having eaten the hot dinner, which turned out to be pretty good in the end, the five friends were in the garden, just hanging out and talking, enjoying the lovely night when they heard Gou’s voice.

“Coach Sasabe, you have so many pictures!”

“Pictures? Of what?” Nagisa questioned curiously.

“Bring them out here so we can see!” urged Makoto, as she emerged from inside the house and into the backyard “It’s the swimming club’s photo album!”

“Oh, I want to see those!” Rosalya exclaimed, always up to relive old memories as the five of them approached the youngest Matsuoka.

“Hey, look, Gou, this is from when we had the barbecue behind the club!” Nagisa pointed out to a picture in which him, Makoto, Haru, Sasabe and several other kids were eating.

“You don’t seem to be anywhere in this photo, Rosalya” Rei observed.

“It must be from before I moved here” she replied, shrugging it off “Rin isn’t there either. When I arrived, he was already transferred to Iwatobi”

“Even back then, Nanase looks so serious” Miss A commented, who had also joined them, along with Sasabe.

“It wouldn’t hurt you to smile every once in a while, Nanase” the coach replied.

“Apparently, Haru’s always smiling in the inside” Rosalya explained, making Nagisa smile at her, knowing he was the one who said that. Everyone chuckled upon hearing her words.

“Rosa, you’re here as well!” Makoto exclaimed, pointing out to a picture in the middle of one of the pages. When Rosa looked at it, she burst into chuckles.

“Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed. In the picture, Rosalya and Rin were asleep on what seemed to be the outside of the club; Rosa had her head placed on Rin’s shoulder, and he had his head on top of hers.

“When was that?” Nagisa questioned curiously.

“I think it might have been the day of the relay” she replied, rummaging through the boxes in her head “I slept over at his house and we stayed up talking all night”

“You seem very close ” Miss Amakata observed with a kind smile, making her smile as well.

“These two always seemed to have a special connection” Sasabe added, but the girl remained quiet. They used to, yes, now she wondered where that connection was, or even if they would ever recover it.

“Can I make a copy of this?” Rosalya asked the man. She didn’t have that picture, and you already know how she is. She loved photographs, and the memories contained within them.

“You can keep it” Sasabe replied “It’s a lot more personal than the other pictures”

“Thank you so much” Rosalya stated, cautiously taking it out, making sure not to break anything.

“This is from the summer tournament, when we were in fifth grade” Makoto explained when they turned the page. On the picture, the entire Iwatobi club from back then was posing, Haru in the first place.

“Even back then, Haru won all the time” Nagisa added, and Rosalya’s gaze then set on a group of kids behind them.

“Hey, that’s Rin!” she pointed out.

“Yeah, but we didn’t know him yet” Haru spoke up for the first time in a while since they arrived to Sasabe’s house “We didn’t really meet until he transferred”

“So weird!” Nagisa exclaimed “It seems he was a big part of our lives before we even met him”

“That kind of stuff makes me think you guys were meant to be” Miss A commented once more.

“I don’t know if you’re supposed to say that talking about a bunch of guys” Gou replied “But we do have Rosa here” she added with a sly grin, and upon hearing her words, the girl went red.

“Shut up” she replied, averting her gaze.

“Wait, what does that mean?” Nagisa questioned curiously, and then looked at the black haired sharply “Are you hiding something from us, Rosa?”

“N-not at all” she replied hurriedly, shaking her head fervently, before sneaking Gou a glare, who didn’t even flinch.

* * *

 

Later that night, the five of them were walking through the bridge, enjoying each other’s company. Miss A had offered Gou to drive her home, so there was only them left. Rosalya walked regularly, but that night was specially enjoyable, not only because of hanging out with her friends, but also because the night itself was beautiful.

“That was so much fun!” Nagisa exclaimed cheerfully.

“Yeah, it was nice of Sasabe to cook for us” Rosaly agreed with a nod and smile.

“But that hot pot was way too hot” Makoto said with a chuckle, and the others did as well.

“Yeah” Nagisa replied “But it was delicious!”

“Can’t argue with that” Rosalya stated “What did you think, Rei?” she questioned, turning around to face the guy, only to find out that he wasn’t following them, he was just standing there with a troubled expression “Is everything okay?” she said, stopping in her tracks and the other three did as well, worriedly.

“I don’t know” he replied under their glances “What happened between the five of you? Why won’t you explain it?”

“The five of us?” repeated the orange haired “Are you talking about Rin?” he added, remembering the photographs they had seen that night.

“You were all so close” he stated, the relay picture he found at Haruka’s house when they went to tell him about swimming in the relay flashing through his mind “I can see it in every picture, you were all so happy back then. And all those photographs you have lying around of you and him, Rosa” he addressed the girl, who looked at him curiously as she remembered her phone screen “Forgive me if I’m wrong, but to me it seems there’s a lot more to your relationship than you claim” she smiled slightly upon hearing that.

“You’re right, Rin isn’t just anyone for me” the girl agreed with a nod, feeling sympathetic for her friend. He was part of their team, but she had to admit there were many things he didn’t know about their past, especially concerning Rin. He must have felt left out, and she couldn’t blame him “And we were happy, all five of us” silence reigned for a few minutes, nobody really knowing what to reply to Rei’s declaration.

“Rei, personally” Haru spoke up softly, and all eyes stood on him “I don’t see the point in digging up the past. But hey, if you really think it’s so important that you need to know about it, I can tell you everything”

“We both can” Rosalya agreed, having her share of the story.

“I need to know” Rei said firmly “I can’t go on feeling like an outsider” Rosa nodded, already expecting he would say something like that, and Mako and Nagisa’s gazes softened upon hearing him “You need to start treating me like a part of this team”

“You’re right” Nagisa nodded in full agreement with his words.

“Okay, then”


	19. The Truth Untold

“Rin was obsessed with relays from the moment he joined our swim club” Haru began explaining, as they stood by the edge of the sea, down at the quiet beach “Everyone has a favourite event, so I never asked why it was all he talked about” Rosa smiled, now knowing why “And the day of the tournament, he told us why it was so important to him”

* * *

 

_“We’re finally here!” Rin exclaimed, staring at his teammates as they stood in a circle in the locker room, some minutes before the competition “I don’t know how else to say this, so I’ll just say thanks”_

_“There’s no need to say that” Makoto replied “Trust me, believe it or not we actually wanna be here with you”_

_“I’m just here because you annoyed me so much” Rosalya joked “And I needed something to do with my free time, so I said ‘hey, I’m going to help a bunch of kids I’ve only known for like a week to swim a relay’”_

_“Shut up” Rin said with a chuckle, nudging her playfully “I’m serious”_

_“I know” the girl replied “And I am actually very glad I did what I did”_

_“That means a lot to me” Rin said with a smile, making his best friend smile as well._

_“All the training you have done these past months culminates here, so all of you give it your best shot” Rosaly spoke up once again. Makoto, Nagisa and Rin nodded firmly, while Haru just stood there quietly, but everyone he felt the same way his friends did._

_“I honestly never thought I’d tell anybody this” Rin continued “But since this is going to be our last race, there’s something I have to share with you, guys” four curious pairs of eyes stood on him upon hearing him talking so solemnly, he wasn’t usually like that “My dad was a great swimmer. In fact, he was one of the first members of the Iwatobi swim club” the girl looked at him surprised upon hearing that. They had engaged in a lot of deep conversations the past year, or as deep as conversations between twelve year olds could get, but she had never heard him talk about his dad before. All she knew was that he had passed away when Rin was a child, nothing else. Whatever he had to say, it had to be important for him “When he was in sixth grade, he was part of a championship medley relay team. His dream was to become an olympic swimmer, and his best friend from back in that time, Asami, promised she’d help him with that dream” Rosalya smiled upon hearing that, already coming up with the idea as to why Rin was so entailed on having her in the team “But ...Life happened, and he had to become a fisherman to support his family. Then, he died in an accident” Rosa looked at him sympathetically upon hearing his words, wanting nothing more than to hug him, but it wasn’t the right time, or place “Australia is all about me living his dream. I thought that if I could win the medal in a medley relay in my dad’s old swim club, and get to know him better, go through what he did, you know, it’d give me the direction I need to do this right. I never met the guys that were on the team with him, but if my dad believed in them, I’m sure they were something special” he chuckled slightly “I guess at first, I was doing all this to be selfish, I was in it for me” the girl smiled upon hearing that. All this time, everything he had been doing was for his dad, it wasn’t selfish. There was nothing wrong with it; in fact, if anything, it was selfless “But now, it’s about us. We’re a team, and as long as we’re together I want us to be the best team that we can be!”_

_“Next, we have the boy’s medley relay” the announcer’s voice came from the loudspeakers around them, and they looked at each other before nodding firmly,_

_“Let’s do this!” Nagisa exclaimed, going off as Haru and Makoto walked behind him. Rin smiled at them as he thought of what was about to come, before beginning to make his way to the pool._

_“Hey, Rin?” he heard Rosa’s voice behind him, and he turned around to look at her curiously, but before he could even blink, the girl pulled him into a tight hug. He was a tad surprised, but he got over it quickly and hugged back just as tightly._

_“What was that for?” he questioned with a smile when they broke apart._

_“Just...Because” she replied, shaking her head. There were no more words left to be said “Go get ‘em” she added with a wink, and he nodded before going off, a strange twinge in his gut. And not necessarily a bad one._

* * *

 

“We ended up winning the medley relay that day” Haruka finished telling Rei about that situation, once Rosa told that last part that nobody knew “Then Rin left for Australia, and shorty after, Rosalya for England. He promised me that I’d see the world in a new way, and the thing is, I actually did” Rei remained quiet, listening to his every word “After we won the relay, I felt like I was seeing everything for the first time”

“Things were never the same after that” Nagisa commented, backing him up

“Yeah, afterwards Haru spent all his free time in a bathtub and a swimsuit” Rosalya joked, making Mako and Nagisa chuckle slightly.

“You felt it too, right Mako?” Nagisa questioned, looking at said boy beside him.

“Sure did” he replied with a small chuckle.

“Rin was a big part of our lives” Rosalya spoke up “Personally, for me, he still is”

“You met when you were young” Rei began recapping what he had just heard “And you got along really well, because you all liked swimming, you trained hard, won first place at relay...That doesn’t explain why your relationship is so different now” he stated, and Rosalya knew he was right.

“I’ve been trying to understand what happened ever since I arrived” the girl replied, sympathizing with him “But everywhere I’ve gone is a dead end. Nobody knows, all I have as a clue is this letter he sent me a couple years ago”

“A letter?” Nagisa questioned curiously, having not heard of that before.

“Yeah” she nodded “On it, he said he was coming back to Iwatobi for winter break. And that was the last thing I knew of him” she explained “Afterwards, he cut all contact with me. I didn’t hear anything from him until this year when I moved back”

“The next winter break after we started middle school” Haru spoke up once again “I bumped into Rin while he was visiting from Australia” Rosalya exchanged glances with Mako, both having heard that story from Coach Sasabe, but they didn’t say anything.

Haru then proceeded to tell how they asked Sasabe for some swimming time, and when they raced, how Haru beat Rin. What Rosalya didn’t know, was what happened next. And that was that Rin began crying, and announced that he was quitting swimming, before running away.

“Woah, how come you never told us about this?” Nagisa wondered.

“I couldn’t bring myself to talk about it at the time, so I didn’t” Haru replied quietly.

“So that’s why you suddenly dropped out of the swimming club in middle school” Nagisa realized.

“Haru had to stop swimming competitively, because he blamed himself for what happened to Rin” Mako explained, but Rosa was immersed in her thoughts. She was only half listening to what her friends were saying.

“But he won that race the other day, shouldn’t that mean you can finally put all this behind you?” Rei demanded exasperated “You’re free from that now! You can swim any way you want, so can he! Why be so upset about losing? And why did he suddenly decide to enter the relay?” when he said that, Rosa was transported back to that night at their old elementary school. It seemed everything tied up together with Haru’s story, but she wasn’t convinced. There was something more, a missing piece of the puzzle she could not find “No matter how hard I try, I still don’t understand it!”

“Rei, it’s alright” Nagisa assured.

“I don’t think it makes any sense either” Haru spoke up, pulling Rosa out of her thoughts as she looked at him; he was smiling. It was one of the very few times Rosa had seen Haru smile “You’re right, I wish I had a better answer, all I can say is that I look forward to racing him. I always do”

* * *

 

“Hi, I’m here to see Matsuoka Rin?” Rosalya found herself standing at the front table of Samezuka after the previous night’s revelations. She had been thinking and over thinking about everything that had happened the past few months with Rin, and she believed she came to a final conclusion as to what was wrong; then came another hour of debating whether to talk to Rin about it or just leave it at that, but she knew she would regret it if she didn’t.

She considered this her last chance to talk to him about Australia, if he wasn’t willing to share anything, she didn’t know what else she could do. She would be all out of options, but she tried to remain optimistic and believe she would be able to get through him. She had valid reasons to support her arguments, she was confident. She had high hopes.

“Name?”

“Tawaraya Rosalya” she replied, as the man in the counter looked over the list of people currently at the dorms. It was early evening, so training had to be done for the day. Her friends had finished a couple hours ago, but she didn’t even bother to change from her swimsuit, it was an urgent matter.

“He’s just come back from the pool” he announced, and she wasn’t at all surprised. That was typical Rin, alright, always in the pool until late “Room 15”

“Thank you” she bowed at him, before going off, going over the things she was planning to say in her head. When she reached the door, she took a deep breath, before knocking. It quickly opened, to reveal Rin on the other side; he was surprised about seeing her there, to say the least.

“Rosa” he breathed out, and she smiled at him.

“Hey you” she greeted “Can I come in?” he nodded, before stepping aside “Nitori is not here” she observed, scanning his room

“He’s showering” replied the boy, closing the door behind him. Their time was limited then “What are you doing here?”

“Do I need a reason to visit my best friend?” she asked good-heartedly, trying to ease the atmosphere before things got heavy, because she was sure they would. Rin opened his eyes wide upon hearing her addressing him as her best friend; it had been so long since he last heard that, he didn’t know how to feel about it. The fact the she still considered him her best friend was shocking enough.

“I guess not…” he replied, casting his gaze to the side.

“But you’re right, I am here for a specific reason” she stated, and he looked at her curiously “Are you okay? Did you listen to my messages?”

“Some of them…” he replied in a low voice “And I’m fine”

“Is that why you decided to swim the relay?” she questioned calmly, and Rin raised an eyebrow upon hearing that “You didn’t seem interested in it all before, so what made you change your mind?”

“Do I need a reason?”

“Considering the circumstances, I think you do” she replied firmly.

“What is that supposed to mean?” he questioned in between teeth, but Rosa remained calm. She knew from the moment she set foot in the building, that it was going to be a difficult situation, but she wasn’t going to let Rin’s attitude affect what she went there to say.

“I might be wrong on this one, but I don’t believe this is all just a huge coincidence you decided to swim the relay when the guys signed up for it” she explained “Everything you have chosen in regards to the tournament so far has been for a reason. You chose to swim freestyle because Haru was doing it, you matched your time with his so you could be side by side, when I’m pretty sure five years at a swimming school in Australia made you a lot faster than that” Rin remained quiet, and she knew she was right “Did you even know that Haru quit swimming because of you?” she added, and he opened his eyes wide upon hearing that “That’s right, because he beat you that one time when you came back and you chose to quit swimming, Haru did as well. You’re the very same reason why he became so interested in swimming in the first place, and you were also the reason he quit. It was the guilt of beating you that drove him away” Rin pressed his lips tightly upon hearing her words “You never told me that you raced him”

“Why should I have?”

“Because it messed you up, and not even as your best friend, as your coach you should have told me, so I could help you overcome it” she replied “That was supposed to be my job when you asked me to train you and the guys. It wasn’t a one time thing that we would forget about afterwards, you made that very clear the day of the relay. ‘The best team that we can ever be’ or did you forget about that?” his fists clenched upon hearing that, but the girl kept going “The night of the festival, at the school-”

“Shut up, you weren’t even supposed to be there” he snapped, getting heated up.

“But I was”

“Yeah, why were you?” he demanded rudely, losing control of his words “Did you pity me so much you wanted to laugh at me? Mock me?”

“Rin, you know that’s not true, I-”

“Yeah, yeah, you made a promise” he finished the sentence for her, and she was taken back upon hearing that “I can’t believe you are still hung up on that, it was ages ago. We were just kids”

“Why are you saying that like it’s a bad memory?” Rosa demanded, getting annoyed herself. Rin’s constant attitude of ‘i’m so over it’ upset her, it didn’t anger her, it didn’t sadden her, it upset her.

“It’s just a memory, it’s not important!” he snapped.

“For me they are!” she said back “I haven’t changed, haven’t showered, I came directly from the pool where I’ve been all day training my team for regionals. I’m standing here in the middle of the evening talking to you when I should be at my house resting for the tournament, and you still think I’m doing this because of a promise?”

“Why are you doing it then?!”

“You really don’t see it?” she asked again, and Rin remained quiet “This stopped being about a promise a long time ago, when you found me and the guys at the swimming club that first time after you came back. Why do you think I’ve been going after you all this time? Why would I be chasing after you even after the way you have treated me if this was just a thing I felt I had to do?” Rin casted his gaze to the side upon hearing her last words; he was aware he had treated her...Horribly, he was and he hated himself for it “Why do you think I keep coming back to you? Like I always have. Like I always will. I still stand by what I said to you all those months ago, the best friend I once knew is still somewhere within you. Whatever it is you’re trying to sell with this facade, it doesn’t work with me. You are not like this, Rin, and no matter how hard you try to pretend that you are fine, I know you aren’t, because I know you”

“Nothing’s wrong with me” he said through gritted teeth.

“Stop lying to me!” Rosalya replied firmly “Stop hiding from me, stop pretending that you don’t miss swimming with us, I know you do. And I’m sure that if you were given a chance to swim in another relay with the guys, you would. That’s all you have ever wanted, isn’t it? To swim in a relay with your best friends, to feel that passion you had in elementary school again, because you have lost it. That’s what you’re looking for”

“I don’t care about the stupid relay!” he exclaimed, and he was sure everyone in the surrounding rooms could hear their argument “I don’t care about your team, or about Haru!”

“Then why were you so compelled on racing him?” Rosa insisted, she was not going to back down “If what you’re saying is true, and I don’t think it is, you could have just moved on with your life, but you didn’t. You only signed up for the freestyle events because Haru would be on those, and the only reason you want to swim the relay tomorrow it’s because the guys are doing it. You’re limiting yourself because you’re blinded by rage! So what if Haru beat you? That doesn’t prove anything, it doesn’t prove your worth as a swimmer and it certainly is no reason to give up your dream”

“Shut up!” he snapped, his fists clenched.

“Rin, please!” she begged, taking his hands on hers, but he didn’t flinch despite how her grip seemed to release all his tension “You’re only making things harder for yourself! You’re hurt and in pain, and if you keep bottling it up it will only make things worse. There’s only so much a person can take before breaking down. You have the chance to avoid something like that happening, so wake up! Don’t you see it’s hurting everyone around you? Haru, Makoto, Gou, Nitori” she made a pause “Me. It’s hurting me; and for what? Glory? Revenge? You shouldn’t define your life and ambitions by how well you do in a stupid race, or whoever the hell you beat on it, you’re much more than that, and it breaks my heart seeing you doubt your own worth”

“Why do you care so much?!” he roared, not even taking a moment to process her words, which he would later realize were correct, he just wanted it to be over. He wanted everything to be over.

“Because I have a crush on you!” she blurted out, before even realizing what she had said; Rin opened his eyes wide upon hearing that “I’ve had it for the past four years. Everything I’m doing, I’m doing it for you. You keep pushing me away, but you don’t realize that it’s only going to get me closer to you. No matter what happens, no matter what you say to me, I am not giving up on you, Rin Matsuoka. Even when you’ve given up on yourself” silence reigned for several minutes, as Rosalya tried to catch her breath after that whirlwind of emotions poured out of her mouth. Her eyes felt heavy.

And when the silence finally broke, it wasn’t the way she expected it.

“Leave” Rin muttered, and things began blurring for the girl, a thousand needles in her heart.

“What?” she breathed out, her voice barely a whisper.

“I said leave!” he snapped, looking back at her “I don’t want you here! GET OUT!”

And once out, she ran. She just ran, aimlessly. She ran until her feet got tired, until the tears in her eyes were too many to hold back, until sobs threatened to get out; and when she finally sat down, the world came crashing down.


	20. Hurt

“Hey, Rosa…” a distant voice was calling for the girl, but she couldn’t recognize it. She felt warm, and the smell of chemicals filled her nose. Her cheeks were wet. Her head was resting on something hard. She began to move slowly, gradually becoming more aware of her surroundings.

And when she finally opened her eyes, she was met with Nathan’s face looking down at her “Hey, sleeping beauty” he said softly, as the girl looked around. She was lying down on a bench, the pool in front of her; sitting up, she realized she was still at Samezuka and night had fallen.

“What time is it?” she questioned, her voice husky. Probably because of all the crying and yelling.

“About 9 PM” he replied “What are you even doing here at this hour?” he just came to the pool to grab his jacket which he had left there after training, and found the girl asleep on the bench.

“I…” she began saying, but before she could even let out one word, another swarm of tears came her way.

“What’s wrong?” he questioned softly, sitting down next to her and looking in her eyes; they were red and swollen “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know” she replied, shaking her head as more tears fell down her eyes.

“Can you tell me what you were doing here?” he asked softly, wanting to wipe her tears away, but he didn’t know how.

“I-I came to talk to Rin” she replied with a sniff, and Nate’s jaw clenched upon hearing that.

“What did that jerk do to you now?” he asked, but the girl couldn’t bring herself to answer, and he was not going to push her to talk if she didn’t want to, but whatever happened had to be serious, because he had never seen his friend like that before “Here, take this” he offered her his jacket, since it was the only thing he had at hand.

“Thanks” the girl said with a watery laugh as she began brushing the tears off “I don’t even know why I’m crying” she added with another sniff.

“You’ve hold on for far too long” Nathan replied kindly “It’s okay to feel this way”

“I guess” she said with a small smile, leaving his jacket on the bench after wiping as many tears as she could “I’m sorry, it’s damped”

“That’s fine, it belongs to a swimmer” he stated logically, the jacket was the least of his concerns at the moment. Right now, all he wanted was to punch someone. Preferably a maroon haired guy whose room was just across his. It annoyed him that Rosalya always came back to Rin despite how horrible he treated her, but he understood as well why she did it, and, frankly, he would have done the same. He just didn’t want to see her suffering, much less by Rin’s hand. He had crossed a line this time.

The girl snorted in amusement upon hearing his words, as she stared at the pool in front of her. She hadn’t even realized where she was going, she wanted to get out of the building, but she ended up going further in; in the midst of all the commotion, she couldn’t focus on her surroundings.

“You know, now that I think about it, even though I’ve known you for awhile, I never had the pleasure of swimming with you” Nathan spoke up in the silence of the night; everyone at the school was probably asleep by then, or about to. It was pretty late.

“Calling it a pleasure is a bit too much” she replied, gradually calming down. Her breathing had slowed down to a more regular pace “I assure you, it’s no big deal”

“Well, I guess I wouldn’t really know, would I?” he questioned, and Rosa couldn’t help being reminded of her race with Rin all those years ago, he said the exact same thing...But she didn’t want to think about him now or she’d end up bursting into tears once again, so she did her best to push all thoughts of Rin off her mind.

“Just give me a time and place and I’ll be there” she replied simply, making him smile.

“It’s too bad you don’t have your swimsuit on” he added, hinting at something in hopes of his friend cheering up “It could’ve been fun”

“Could we even do that here?” she questioned curiously.

“It’s 9 PM, nobody comes by at this hour” he assured “It’s a shame, I was even prepared” he added, and Rosa then noticed he had his swimsuit on; she couldn’t help giggling, much to his confusion

“You remind me of Haru, he always has his swimsuit underneath his clothes” she explained.

“I don’t always have it” he clarified “Just during summer, it’s comfortable”

“I’m not one to judge” she replied, raising her hands up in redemption “I haven’t even changed from mine” she added with a small and sly grin, which he returned.

“That’s what I like to hear” he stated, standing up and beginning to stretch “How well are you with freestyle?”

“Decent” she replied, mirroring his moves as they both prepared to swim “I’m not an expert at it, but I know how to do it”

“My specialty is backstroke, so we’re on the same page here” he stated, as they both got on the platforms “On my mark?” he suggested.

“As long as you don’t cheat” she said good-heartedly.

“I’m appalled by the insinuation” he replied sternly, but with a smile, glad his plan was working.

“I’m choosing to give you the benefit of the doubt” she said with a wink, before taking her position “Ready when you are”

“Take your marks...Go!” he indicated, and splashes were immediately heard.

In the meanwhile, Rin was at his room, his head swarming with thoughts of Rosa. He couldn’t get their argument out of his head, nor Rosa’s confession, or the way he spoke to her. He didn’t mean to, it just...Happened. And it was too late to regret it now, even if her words held some truth to them.

Nitori came back not so long after he told her to go away, and immediately noticed something was wrong. But when asked, Rin just dismissed it. He was actually surprised nobody had come barging into his room the moment Rosalya and him started screaming at each other; the walls turned out to be a lot thicker than he thought.

And here he was, three hours later, without being able to get one wink. His mind constantly went to the girl, wondering where she was now and if she was alright. Had she gone back home? He hoped so, it was very late in the night and the streets weren’t very safe.

Trying not to fill his mind with senseless thoughts, he stood up quietly and left the room, trying not to wake Nitori or anyone else there. He was going for a jog. That was what he always did when he couldn’t sleep, which had been happening a lot lately.

He passed by the pool on his way outside, but stopped in his tracks when he heard laughter from inside. Wondering who could be there at that hour, he cautiously walked towards the door. It was pitch dark inside, the only source of light was the moon shining beyond the window.

As his eyes got used to such blackness, he spotted some clothes on the floor, and a bag and jacket on the bench closest to the window. The jacket was part of the samezuka uniform.

“You know, for someone who doesn’t swim free, you did a pretty good job” he heard a male voice saying, and when he got out of the pool, he recognized him as Nathan Lance, the guy who was always hanging out with Rosa; he was talking to someone in the pool, but he couldn’t tell who it was.

“I tried” Rin heard a very familiar female voice, and when the figure finally got out, he could see it was Rosalya. His eyes opened wide upon seeing she was still there, with that guy once again “But it’s not my specialty, and considering I didn’t swim for an entire year, the result was obvious from the start” she said logically “I still had fun, though”

“I’m glad to hear that” Nathan said genuinely “And I think you arrived not so long after me. You gotta admit, we could make quite the team”

“We could” she agreed, and after some more minutes, spoke up again “Thanks for this, Nate. At least I have you to cheer me up”

“That’s my branding” he replied good-heartedly, making her smile “Need a cheering up? Don’t doubt to call Nathan Lance!” she chuckled upon hearing his words, before pulling him into a hug. And that’s when Rin decided he had seen enough.

The similarities were there, but Rosalya had him since they were kids, Nathan? Not even a year. He could never get as close.

* * *

 

“Sorry, I’m late!” Rosalya quickly apologized to the guys when she arrived to Rei’s house. She had missed a call from Nagisa from when she was sleeping by the Samezuka pool, and only had time to listen to it that same morning, since when she arrived at her home after Nathan walked her there, she was mentally and emotionally drained, and all she wanted was to sleep twelve hours straight.

“It’s okay, we arrived not so long ago” Makoto assured as they stood by the door; the reason they were there was because Rei had missed practice, and they were worried about him.

“Hey, are you alright?” Nagisa questioned, eyeing her curiously “You look like you didn’t sleep much” he added; she had eye bags underneath her eyes, and her hair was wet, since she also recovered the energy needed to take a shower just that morning.

“I had a tough night” she replied, shrugging it off. She hadn’t told the guys she went to talk to Rin, and she didn’t really feel like bringing it up at that moment “But I’m here now, and that’s what matters”

“Okay, then!” the orange haired replied “Let’s not keep Rei waiting any longer!” he ringed the bell, and some seconds later, their friend came out “Hey, Rei, how you doing?” he quickly asked, as all four of them walked in “I’m gonna make myself comfy!” he added, lying on his bed.

“Why are you all here? Is something wrong?” Rei questioned, looking at them confused.

“Coach Sasabe sent us to check up on you” explained Makoto.

“Sorry it took so long, I might have overslept this morning” Rosa replied apologetically.

“We even brought you a get-well gift” added the olive haired boy, holding the bag in his hand slightly up for him to see.

“But...I wasn’t…” Rei began, but Nagisa cut him off.

“Hey, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you are in excellent shape! Gou and Miss A were starting to get pretty worried about you too! Sasabe even said ‘tell him he should take care of himself better before a tournament’’ he said the last part doing a poor imitation of Coach Sasabe, which made Rosa chuckle. He had said that indeed.

“Everyone was really worried about me?” Rei asked in disbelief, repeating the word over in his head.

“Of course we were worried” Haru replied.

“It was the first time you missed practice, it’s hard not to worry” Makoto added.

“He’s right” Rosa replied with a nod “And besides, you’re our friend. We’re obviously going to worry if you’re not feeling well” she added, before setting her gaze on some shelves behind Rei “Hey, are these your trophies from middle school?” she questioned curiously, approaching them to get a closer look “I kept many of mine from swimming competitions as well”

“It doesn’t surprise me” Makoto replied with a gentle smile, well aware of how much memories meant to Rosalya.

“Yeah, they are from when I was a kid, but it’s not important now” Rei replied to the girl’s question.

“Yeah, now he’s drowning in every swim book ever written!” exclaimed Nagisa, and everyone’s gazes immediately set on the bookshelves in front of them.

“Woah, it’s true!” Makoto replied, seeing all the books. There were 100 at least.

“Have you read every one of these?” Haru questioned in surprise, turning to look at him.

“Well, yes. I had to be thorough if I was going to construct a proper plan” he replied, as if it was the most logical thing in the world.

“C’’mon, Rei!” Nagisa whined “You gotta stop researching everything, that’s how you jinx yourself!”

“Well, I think that’s his charm” Rosalya chimed in “Rei wouldn’t be Rei without his research”

“Thanks for saying that” Rei replied, making her smile.

“So, Rei” Haruka spoke up, making all eyes turn to look at him “Is it true that you talked to Rin?” Rosa arched her eyebrows upon hearing that.

“You talked to Rin?” she repeated in surprise, not having any idea that it happened.

“You weren’t here when I told them everything” Nagisa explained, before giving Rei an apologetic glance “I’m sorry, Rei, I feel bad”

“Don’t be” Rei replied with a smile, turning to look back at the rest of his friends “Yes, it was quite the meeting”

“Tell me about it…” Rosa mumbled to herself.

“Was it because I told you about our past?” Haru asked quietly, earning back Rosa’s attention.

“No, not really” Rei replied, shaking his head “I have my own reasons for wanting to talk to him. I needed some answers, but it’s okay now. I’m done worrying, especially about him. It’s not my problem anymore” the guys smiled, and it even brought a ghost of a smile to the girl’s face when she heard him saying that. She knew being left out of everything was hard for him, but she was glad he wasn’t going to let it get in his way anymore. They needed him at 100%”

“Okay, then” Haru said with a smile “Guess that means the five of us can focus on the team, right, Rei?” Haru was right, they needed to focus all their energy on the relay; Rosa needed to stop thinking about Rin.

“You mean I’m a part of it?” he asked surprised, but Rosa was even more surprised.

“Are you seriously asking that, Rei?” she questioned “You always were part of this team, from the very beginning”

“Yeah, where would we be without the contribution of your style and brain power?” Makoto added.

“They’re right, every single member of this team is irreplaceable” Nagisa exclaimed “You think you’re ready?”

“Yes!”

* * *

 

“Matsuoka” Rin heard someone calling for him the next morning, and when he looked up from the bench he was sitting on, his blood boiled.

“What do you want?” he snapped, looking into the fiery eyes of Nathan Lance with fire of his own.

“I don’t know what you thought you were doing last night arguing with Rosa, but it’s getting out of hand” he hissed, folding his arms; Rin arched an eyebrow upon hearing the girl’s name.

“Rosa?”

“Yes, you know, that girl who has been by your side all these years and whom you have been treating like garbage ever since she came back?” he asked venomously.

“What do you know about it?” he demanded “You’ve only just met her”

“That may be true” he agreed “But when I see a girl crying her eyes out by the side of a pool, I can’t help worrying” Rin opened his eyes wide upon hearing those words, all anger erasing temporally from his mind when he heard his last words.

“She was crying?” he blurted out, and much to Nate’s surprise he sounded genuinely worried, but he didn’t show it or comment on it.

“Look” he began “All she told me was the she had talked to you. I don’t know what you two spoke about, and I don’t care, but you need to stop. You’re hurting her, when she’s done nothing but shown you support and kindness for the past months”

Rin didn’t say anything. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything, because as much as he hated to admit it, Nathan was right. He was truly hurting her, he was hurting his best friend and he was aware of that, but he didn’t know how to fix it.


	21. The Beginning of the End

Rosalya stared out the window of the bus she was currently in, her four friends sitting close to her on their way to regionals. They were the only people there besides the bus driver. Gou, Miss A, Sasabe and a couple more people from school would be leaving Iwatobi early the next morning to arrive in time for the medley.

After several stops on the way, which they used to sightsee and grab something to eat, they were now just a few hours away from the capital.

“Hey, guys?” Rosa called, looking to her side where her friends sat on the other row of seats.

“What is it?” questioned Rei, as everyone gave her curious glances.

“I just wanted to say thank you” she admitted “For being with me” she added. The past months with the boys had been some of the best times she had ever had in her life so far, she had so much fun training them and hanging out with them and their occurrences; she really missed it when she was away in England.

“No need for thanks” Makoto replied with a smile “In fact, I think we should be thanking you, since it’s because of you that we even made this far in the first place”

“That’s a lot of credit” the girl stated good-heartedly “I’m sure you would have made it this far even without my help. All I did was give you an extra push”

“We still appreciate it” the olive-haired replied.

“But you truly helped me” she spoke up once again “All four of you. I wasn’t at a particularly good place at the beginning of the year” she added, her gaze casted to the floor as she remembered everything that happened the year before, and she hated to say that not much of it was happy “In fact, I would’ve hit rock bottom, if it wasn’t because of my family and Joy who I had to support me, it was the minimum necessary I needed to keep me afloat” the boys listened quietly to her; it was the first time she mentioned something like that to them “But I never liked to do things half-way, so I decided I needed a change if I wanted to go back to my old self, and that’s what brought me here” she said with a smile, finally looking at her friends, who smiled back “I thought coming back where I grew up, where I was shaped, would help me swim further into the surface, at least enough to be able to dive back in when I felt I could, but much to my surprise that also happened while I was here” the boys smiled upon hearing that “So really, thank you. I owe you a lot”

“I’m glad you’re here with us as well” Nagisa said with honesty, making her smile.

“Me too, Nagi, me too” she nodded “And I want all of you to know, that no matter how harsh I’ve been on you when you were training” the boys chuckled slightly upon hearing that “Or whatever happens tomorrow, I am proud of you, and of how far all of you have come” she added, her gaze lingering on Rei for a few seconds, since he was the one who had made the most progress out of all of them, even herself “I wouldn’t wish for a better team”

“Aww, Rosa! You’re going to make me cry!” Nagisa exclaimed, jumping on her to give her a hug, which she returned with a chuckle. And maybe some hidden tears of her own.

* * *

 

“It’s been so long since I was here” Rosalya breathed out as she walked around the room she had for herself at the hotel, for obvious reasons “I mean, look at this view!” she added, turning her laptop screen to face the window, Joy’s image reflected on the glass.

“That looks awesome” her best friend said from the other side “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay!” replied the black-haired, facing the laptop towards her once more as she sat on the bed “I have absolute faith that the guys will nail it at the tournament, they haven’t been training for nothing”

“Aren’t you sad you won’t be able to compete?” Joy asked remorsefully.

“Maybe a little bit” admitted Rosa “But I will have plenty of more opportunities, so I won’t let it get in my head”

“That’s the attitude, girl” her friend said triumphantly, making her chuckle, but Joy’s face then faltered “Do you know if you’re coming back here anytime soon? I miss you”

“I miss you as well” Rosalya replied sympathetically “And I hope you’re not thinking what I believe you’re thinking, Joy Lance, I could never forget about you”

“I’d murder you in your sleep if you did” Joy said with a deadpan face, making Rosa giggle “I was just...wondering, now that you’ve come back to swimming, what will you do? I know next year is months away, but it will be your last year and all of us thought this self-discovery thing would last more than six months” Rosa took a moment to gather her thoughts before beginning to speak.

“Well...I love England, and I had a great time at Laguna Creek, but...I don’t feel I can go anywhere else now that I’m here. Besides, I still have some things to take care of” she replied, and even though she didn’t say it, both girls knew what that pending business was “I’ve gotten used to the life I’ve created here, to seeing the guys everyday...I don’t want to resign that, especially since it hasn’t been that long since I moved” Joy stayed quiet for some minutes. She was happy for her best friend, happy that she was having fun, but she had to admit she was also a bit sad that she didn’t seem to have any plans to come back. Rosalya was like a sister to her and she missed hanging out together, but if she was fine where she was...She would support her.

“I hope you at least come visit me during Summer” she said sternly “And we’re gonna have to raise the quota of calls we have per week, from 3 to 5” Rosa chuckled upon hearing her friend’s words.

“Deal” she replied happily “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you! I raced your brother the other day!” Joy arched her eyebrows upon hearing that.

“Really? What was that like?” she questioned, leaning forward in her seat “Did you pulverize him? Please tell me you did”

“I can’t compete with a guy who has been attending the best swimming school in the whole of Iwatobi for two years straight” she replied, shrugging it off “But I had a lot of fun”

“Oh, well, next time maybe” Joy said hopeful “Woah, now that I think about it, I haven’t raced Nathan in a long time”

“He’s coming to visit this summer, right? That could be your chance” suggested her friend, to which the girl nodded.

“Yeah, maybe” she agreed, tilting her head to the side, just as a knock in Rosa’s door was heard.

“Oh, hey, hold up” indicated the girl, standing up and opening the door, to reveal her four friends standing outside.

“Rosa! Are you ready to go?” Nagisa exclaimed, and it was at that moment that she remembered the guys and her were going out for dinner.

“Oh, yeah!” she said promptly “Just give a minute”

“Who are you talking to?” Joy’s voice came from the laptop, startling the guys a little bit.

“Oh, the guys are here” she replied “We’re going out for dinner”

“Who is that?” Nagisa questioned, approaching the desk where the laptop was and looking into the screen curiously.

“It’s my friend Joy whom I told you about” she explained as the other guys got closer “Joy, this is my team” she introduced “These are Nagisa, Haruka, Makoto and Rei”

“Nice to meet you!” Joy said politely, waving at them, putting what little Japanese she knew to practice, she had learned a couple things from being with Rosalya “I’ve heard a lot about you”

“You too” Makoto replied with a polite smile, as Joy looked at him with decent interest; Rosa raised an eyebrow upon seeing that gaze, before she looked back at her.

“Well, I guess I better leave you then” Joy spoke up, talking to Rosa “Don’t forget about the increased quota!” she reminded, making her friend chuckle, before looking at the other guys “Good luck tomorrow! I’m rooting for you!”

“Thanks” Haru said quietly, before Joy ended the call. Not so long after, Rosalya received a message.

_Omg, what was the name of that olive-haired cutie? Makoto?_

She held back her chuckle.

_Someone has a crush._

_Can you really blame me?_

* * *

 

“I think I ate too much” Rei complained later that night, as the five of them walked down the streets after a dinner at a traditional restaurant, since it was the best choice because they had to prepare for swimming the next day.

“You ordered too much” Rosa scolded in disapproval.

“It was a mistake!” he complained, as the four of them chuckled, while a couple of guys passed by.

“Oh, I bet those guys are gonna be at the tournament tomorrow!” Nagisa exclaimed, and Rosa smiled at his excitement. He was clearly very eager to participate in the medley, so were the others, she could tell. So was she “Wouldn’t it’d be crazy if they were in the lane next to us?”

“It’s more likely they’re local high school students” Rei observed, folding his arms “Besides, I highly doubt they swim competitively, their muscles don’t look built for it”

“And that’s how you know you’ve spend too much time with Gou” Rosa mocked, making the boys chuckle.

“How about we got check out the pool?” Makoto suggested, and everyone agreed, but when they arrived they discovered it was closed.

“Well, it is about 9 PM” Rosa commented logically “Too bad”

“Not quite” Haru replied, and everyone looked at him curiously “Maybe we still might be able to see it”

Some seconds later, they arrived to a set of stairs, that led to a platform high above the ground, and down below, the pool could be seen in all its glory. It was gorgeous; it almost seemed as if the water was glowing.

“To think we get to swim in such beauty!” Rei exclaimed, his eyes shining.

“And I thought I was pumped before getting a look at this!” Nagisa added.

“Me too” Makoto replied.

“This is what I’d call a glow up from painting a pool for a week” Rosalya commented, leaning her arms on the rail, her eyes fixed on the pool she would witness her friends swimming at. They boys chuckled upon hearing her words.

Everything would culminate tomorrow.

* * *

 

Very late into the night, Rosa was lying on her bed, trying to get some sleep, but she couldn’t as much as she tried. She didn’t even know why she was so nervous, she wouldn’t be swimming the next day.

Her phone then vibrated, and with a frown she grabbed it from the table, wondering who would be texting her at 11 PM.

**From: Gou**

_I hope you have cute pjs!_

That was all the message said, and she had no idea what it meant, what Gou was trying to say to her. Cute pjs? For what?

Despite her confusion, she couldn’t help looking down; she wasn’t wearing a pj per se, but a plain white t-shirt and a flower-patterned short that was too old to use in her everyday outfits, so pajama it became.

As she was trying to make sense of her friend’s text, another one dropped in her inbox.

And when she saw who it was, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

**From: Rin**

_Hey, I need to talk to you. Can you meet me outside your hotel?_

Oh, so that's what Gou meant.

Rosalya took her time to gather her thoughts and get off the bed. It was the first time Rin talked to her ever since the fight they had; in fact, she hadn’t thought about him at all since she arrived to the city until that precise moment.

She didn’t know what to expect, she was a little bit scared as to what he might have to say to her after her words and, more specifically, her confession. She never meant for him to find out like that, furthermore, she never once thought about telling him. It was something she had kept to herself and a few people for quite a while now, mostly because of everything that had happened between them, and to her specifically. Until very recently, she wasn’t in a position to get into a relationship. Much less one with Rin; she always had the feeling that there was something between the two of them, but it was just that. A feeling, no certainty anywhere.

She grabbed her phone and went out to meet the boy. The closer she got to the door, the faster her heart beat.

Finally, she arrived outside, to find Rin dressed in a tracksuit. A slight breeze was blowing, but not enough to get her cold.

“Yo” he greeted, but Rosalya couldn’t bring herself to reply. What did he want to say? It was nerve-wracking “I never answered any of your questions, did I?” he added, making the girl frown, as she forced herself to say something.

“I guess…” she replied in a low voice.

“Well, it’s the least I can do” she looked at him curiously, but said nothing as he began to tell his story “You were right, I was pretty obsessed with racing Haru, but it wasn’t his fault I quit swimming” Rosa frowned upon hearing that, as her theory that something else had happened to Rin came true “Don’t get me wrong, I was pretty shocked he beat me, but...That isn’t what did it” Rosa couldn’t really see his expression in the dark, but she could tell he seemed to be remembering something “Despite training everyday, and participating in every tournament back in Australia, I couldn’t swim the way I wanted to. The olympics were completely out of reach, and I felt more and more like I was being left behind, even by you” her heart clenched upon hearing those words, but she said nothing “I could only wonder, why was I struggling so much? Why? And then, it hit me. I swam in a relay, and ruined myself” the girl knitted her eyebrows together upon hearing those very harsh words “That’s what I thought, at least. I didn’t make any effort to get in touch with the three of them, or even call you back, not even to let you know where I was because...I couldn’t bring myself to do it, I couldn’t bring myself to even read your letters after I quitted swimming for good. All I could think of was how ashamed you’d be of me, how pathetic you’d think I was, how disappointed you’d feel” Rosa looked at him, a slight pain in her chest “But then... I swam with Haru, and that race gave me the breakthrough I needed. After that...I fell in love with swimming again. And then, district came, and I saw the four of them swimming together. And I saw you cheering for them, and it reminded me of our relay” Rosa frowned, a question on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t say anything because Rin kept speaking “And just last night...I saw you racing Lance, and it reminded me...Of us” she opened her eyes wide upon hearing that.

“Rin, I…” she began, but he cut her off.

“Ryugazaki, is it? The one racing in your team?” Rei questioned, and Rosa was surprised by the sudden change of subject “He better do the best he can with Haru and the others, I’ll be watching” Rosa watched helplessly as he walked by her, walked away from her, but she couldn’t just stay still, she had to say something.

“Rin!” she called, and he stopped in his tracks but didn’t look back “You know you’re irreplaceable, right?” she questioned, and he tensed slightly “No one could ever take away your place in my life, no matter how hard they try. Not even Nathan” he stayed still for some minutes, gathering his thoughts; he seemed conflicted from what the girl could see.

And before she even knew it, a pair of soft lips were on hers. It was her first kiss, and even though it was pretty much stolen, she wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to steal it. But of course, all these thoughts only came to her some time later, when she was back in her room.

At that moment, all she could think of was of how gently Rin was kissing her, how his hands were wrapped around her waist protectively, and just how much she wanted to kiss back, but before her brain caught up to her desire, he broke apart from her, and placed his forehead against hers.

“I’m sorry for making you come down here” he said in a whisper, with a soft voice Rosalya had never heard before.

And just like that, he was gone.


	22. Uncertainty

“Rosa, hurry up and let’s get going!” Nagisa called for the girl, as the four of her friends watched her scribbling something on the ground in front of a tree.

“I’m coming!” she replied. She didn’t even know why she was doing that, it was just a feeling in her gut that told her she should leave that there, for anyone that needed some guidance, at least until the next rain washed it away.

“What on earth is she doing?” Rei questioned curiously.

“Hey, that looks like the tree from middle school!” Nagisa observed, turning to look at Haru and Makoto.

“Oh, yeah” Mako replied, seeing the similarities “It’s been a while, huh”

* * *

 

“Woah, this place is huge!” Nagisa exclaimed, as they observed the pool from the bleachers, where some swimmers were already warming up.

“And packed!” Makoto added, looking at all the people there. Rosa smiled; it reminded her of the tournaments she had participated in when she was in England, there was always the same amount of swimmers and people, the place looked the same too. If she focused hard enough, she could hear Joy freaking out in the locker room. And she, like the good friend she was, always stood there with her, trying to calm her down, with not much of a success most of the time, but still trying.

She could feel the adrenaline rushing through her body as if she was back there, swimming in that pool in the finals of her last tournament, only now she was an expectator, not a participant. But it didn’t bother her, her time would come eventually. And it would feel as if it was her first competition all over again.

“Well, there you guys are!” they heard Sasabe’s voice, and looked to the side to find him standing there, along with Gou. Seeing Rin’s sister, made Rosa relive the kiss she shared with him the previous night. She didn’t know what it meant, or if it meant anything at all. She was trying her best to ignore it, but it was hard considering she could still taste his lips on hers, and feel his touch and warmth.

Was she happy he had told her what happened to him in Australia? Well, happy was not the word she would use to describe it. She still had many questions left unanswered, in fact, his explanation had only fabricated more mystery.

If there was one word that could describe her state of mind in that moment, it would be uncertainty. Uncertainty for the future. For the competition. For her relationship with Rin. If one could even call it a relationship at all, it was more of a seesaw game at this point. What did he want? What did she want? Nobody knew.

“We feeling good this morning?” Gou questioned, pulling her out of her thoughts

“Yeah!”

“Absolutely!”

“You bet we are!”

In the meanwhile, Haru looked around, searching for someone (we all know who)

“It looks like Rin hasn’t arrived yet” Mako spoke up, reading his mind like he always had done; this called Rosa’s attention as well.

“Don’t worry, he’ll come” she assured confidently; he had told her so.

“I know” Haru replied with a rare smile, though she had been seeing more and more of it lately. And she was glad.

Speaking of, she hadn’t told the guys about her encounter with Rin yet. It wasn’t really something she could just say out of the blue, because even she was still trying to wrap her head around it.

“Did something happen with my brother yesterday I should know about?” the girl questioned to Rosa curiously, and she opened her eyes wide nervously. How was she supposed to explain it to Gou? Should she even tell her?

“N-not really” she replied after some minutes “We talked about the competition today, that’s all” the girl wasn’t convinced, but before she could say something else, Hana and Miss A approached them.

“Hey, everyone! We got seats for the whole group!” the younger girl announced.

“Oh, thank you so much!” Rosa replied, eager to get away from that conversation as fast as possible.

“Alright, everyone!” Sasabe exclaimed “Let’s do it!”

“If we win this today, we’ll make it to nationals” Makoto stated, the whole situation finally sinking in.

“You think we have a shot?” Nagisa questioned.

“I think you-” Rosa began, but was cut off by Sasabe and his megaphone.

“Get it out of your heads!” he yelled into the speaker, which made it sound even louder than normal, and startled many people around them as well “It’s not the time to think about that! Quit worrying about how this will play out, and swim for yourselves! For each other! For the hell of it! Whether you win or lose, the point is to be free!” that brought a smile to their faces.

“I was going to say that” Rosa spoke up “Only more calmly and less...Intense” she said, thinking carefully about which word to use in front of Sasabe. The last thing she wanted was more yelling in her ear “Just go out there and have fun! Your deserve it!”

“Yes, ma’am, sir!”

* * *

 

“Are you sure nothing happened last night?” Gou kept insisting as they sat on the bleachers. There were several more races before the relay, among them Rin’s.

“A-absolutely” she replied, trying her best not to sound nervous by her questioning.

“Hey” Hana called, and Rosa thanked her silently once again “So show me again which one’s your brother?”

“He’s with the Samezuka team” she replied, scanning the swimmers in search of him “He’s also Rosalya’s boyfriend”

“Friend!” Rosa blurted out a correction, startling Hana slightly “He’s just my friend” she clarified more calmly.

Maybe.

“Oh, there he is!” Gou chimed in, ignoring her words, and motioning to her brother down below. Rosa looked at him as well, and she could tell right away something was off. He had his head hung low, and his eyes...Were dead. That was the only way she could put it. There was no spark in them, no light. No nothing.

Gou also noticed as well, and her first instinct was to look at Rosa, who was already looking back at her. A silent agreement was reached.

Something was wrong.

As soon as the man in charge of the event congratulated all the teams for making it so far, the three girls were quickly joined by the four guys.

“Next, we have the men’s 100 mt freestyle!” the announcer stated, and Rosa’s gaze quickly went to Rin. The guys were saying something around her, but she blocked them off, wanting nothing more than to focus on the boy. Rin took his place, Gou yelled something she didn’t hear, and the race began.

He dove in late, and Rosa leaned forward on her seat, wanting to get as close as she could, the tension building up. She had hope he could make a comeback on the turn, but much to her disappointment, he was still way, way behind. She clenched at the fabric of her jacket tightly, close to breaking it, and if she had leaned any more forward, she would have fallen off her place. Her heart was beating wildly, her breath got caught in her throat. He could still make it, he could still make it…

...He didn’t.

Upon reaching the end of the pool, Rin coughed all the extra water that had gotten in his lungs. He tried to propel off the pool, but he fell back down. He was never so tired after a race.

Rosalya jumped up in the blink of an eye, and rushed towards the inside of the building, not realizing Haru quickly followed behind, and so did the other guys.

She cursed silently. She knew what Rin told her the previous night wasn’t everything that was going, she knew that, of course she knew. But being the dumb idiot that she was, she didn’t pry any further, which was exactly what she should have done. Even if it cost her his patience, her patience, their friendship, his feelings towards her, she should have dug deeper. She should have. And if she had followed her gut from the beginning, maybe what she had just witnessed wouldn’t have happened in the first place.

She promised she’d always be there for him, but when he needed her the most, she gave up. And because of what? Because of a petty fight? It shouldn’t have mattered, none of it. She cared about Rin with all her heart, her feelings for him should have been stronger than her. She shouldn’t have abandoned him like she did.

“SHUT UP!” she heard the unmistakable voice of Rin, and the sound of something being hit. She went into the direction she heard it, and was met with a heartbreaking scene.

“Please, get a hold of yourself, you can’t be like this! They’ll ban you for competing! You gotta get it together!” Nitori was desperately pleading with Rin, but he wasn’t having any of it.

“I don’t have to do a damn thing! You think any of this matters anymore?!” he roared. Rosa had never heard him like that before, he wasn’t just angry, he was enraged. The darkness in his eyes was replaced with a violent fire, that couldn’t be contained. A fire which would soon engulf him, consume him “It’s obvious I couldn’t get any better! That’s why I was taken off the relay!” the girl opened her eyes wide upon hearing those words, tears on them “I give up! I quit years ago, and I should have stayed quit!” he screamed, kicking a trash can violently and walking away.

“Matsuoka, wait!” Nitori tried once again, but it was useless. He didn’t come back, didn’t even look behind.

When Nitori turned around and saw her standing there, it was in that moment that she felt a presence behind her, and turning around she found Makoto, Rei, Nagisa and Haru; she hadn’t even realized they were there as well.

Nobody spoke for a while, tension still in the air as Nitori walked away remorsefully.

“I don’t get it” Nagisa finally broke the silenced “Why would anyone want to take Rin out of a relay?” he added sadly.

“And here I thought we would be able to race with him if we made it to the finals” Makoto admitted downhearted.

The atmosphere had turned gloomy, the sun didn’t seem to be shining as bright anymore. Rosa turned to look at Haru, to find him in utter shock. Maybe even in the verge of tears. His feet stopped holding his body up, and he stumbled against the wall, burying his head in his knees as he sat down.

“It’s over” he said quietly “I’ll never swim with Rin again”

“Haru…” Makoto breathed out, as Rosa stayed silent and conflicted.

“Don’t say that” Nagisa added “What do we do? They’re gonna start the relay prelims anytime now”

“It’s okay!” Mako tried to encourage him, but Haru stayed put “For the moment, keep your mind on the race!”

“But look at him!” Nagisa motioned worriedly; their best swimmer was broken.

“I know…” and Rosa decided she was done.

“There’s something you should know” she spoke up, making the three of them turn to look at her curiously “As you all know, for the past months, I’ve been trying to find out what happened to Rin, what changed him like that. And up until very recently, I still had no idea. But last night when you were sleeping, he and I met outside the hotel” she began explaining, and the three guys opened their eyes wide “And he finally told me the truth, at least half of it. He said that back in middle school, the real reason he wanted to quit swimming had nothing to do with losing to Haru” she added, looking at the black haired in the corner, but she couldn’t see his expression “While he was in Australia, he hit a wall. And while it shattered his confidence, it also shattered him. He couldn’t take it anymore, so he quit” Nagisa, Rei and Mako looked at her in surprise “But then...He came back to Japan, he raced Haru again, and his whole perspective changed. Just like he changed Haru’s all those years ago. The spark he used to have was rekindled. He also told me that he saw us at district, and recaptured that old feeling; relays appealed to him again. He was determined to swim with Samezuka and give us the best race we could have”

“Woah” Nagisa breathed out “I didn’t realize he felt that way” all she could do was smile, but it was a ghost of a smile.

“That isn’t all the truth, is it?” Rei spoke up for the first time since they arrived there, and Rosa sighed.

“It’s not” she replied, shaking her head and feeling very sorry for what she was about to say, but she had to let it out “I had a feeling, but I wasn’t so sure, until a couple days ago when I went to talk to him at his dorm” the guys were very surprised, since it was the first time they were finding out about all the stuff Rosa did for Rin without them knowing “In the aftermath, I realized that...As much as he tries to deny it, he never cared about winning. All he wants and all he’s ever wanted was to swim in a relay with his friends; hell, the reason he even swims in the first place it’s because of us”

“How do you know?” Haru finally said something, and he had a raspy voice as he stood up.

“Because she feels the same way” Rei spoke for her, and all eyes turned to look at him “And I do as well” he added with a shy smile “For me, you’re it. You guys are why I’m here” Rosa smiled upon hearing that, because he was right; she felt the same, and she was glad he understood what she was getting at, and wasn’t angry about it “And I know, deep down, that it’s the same for you, too. That’s what swimming free means, who cares if we win or lose, right? It’s about who you swim with!” there was moment of silence, until Haru spoke up.

“I…” he took a deep breath, and looked up with determination shining in his eyes “I want to swim with Rin again”

“Rin is gonna quit if you don’t do something” Rei stated sternly “You guys are the only ones who can actually help him”

“But what can we do to change Rin’s mind?” Mako questioned confused.

“Stop being so slow, Makoto!” Rosa replied sternly, taking him by surprise. They were running out of time “Both, Rei and I know that there’s only one answer here, and it’s been staring at you in the face for the past twenty minutes!” nobody said anything, but everyone knew what the girl was talking about.

“But Rei...Are you really okay with that?” Haru questioned with uncertainty.

And Rei answered, in a very typical Rei manner “Just make it beautiful”

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Free! episodes, storyline, or characters, I just own my OC's and their stories. Please do not steal or copy in any way, thank you ;)
> 
> P.S: thank you so much for reading, and comments keep me me motivated!


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